Semper Fidelis Book 2 of The Carpenter Blueprints
by Thomas A
Summary: When the wizard's away the apprentice must pay.  The world and all major characters remain the property of Jim Butcher.  Reviews appreciated.
1. Chapter 1

_*Author's Note: Thank you for those who encouraged me (and one who beats on me) to get on to the next book. I hope you all enjoy.*_

**Semper Fidelis**

Chapter 1

Did you ever stop and take a breath in the midst of a rather important moment in your life and notice all the little and sometimes even large events that led up to that point in time? Could something so simple as choosing a peanut butter and jelly sandwich instead of using bologna really be the deciding factor to if I live or if I die days later? Does God have our lives all scripted out and we merely perform the actions and the dialogue he envisioned for us before we were even born? Some believe that to be true, though I prefer not to think of myself as a puppet on a string. I do intend to ask Uriel the next time we chat; and oh yes there most certainly will be a next time I have decided! But I guess I am jumping a bit ahead. I really should get you caught up first before I lay this all on you to decide. Okay, so where was I?

Over the course of the last several days Harry was once more immersed body, spirit, and soul into another magical crisis. This one was huge, and while I tried to offer support to him where I could, I quickly saw this was way beyond my abilities. He understands that I expect him to call upon me and not protect me from every little danger if I am ever going to become confident in my abilities. I knew that when he chose not to do so it was for a very good reason in his mind and I agreed to respect that.

Knowing Harry and my father were into something dangerous like that now drove me to study even harder, though I must admit there was a lot to distract me. I could not get out of my head a feeling of dread that something bad was going to happen. I do not know how else to explain it. I could just sense something big was coming our way. It bothered me so much I even asked Harry to take care of my dad, something in all the years the two had worked together I never had done before. Harry agreed and asked me to research if my family was descended from nobility to answer another related question that he had but did not want to share with me just yet.

I had no idea why he was asking this, but I promised, as a good apprentice should, that I would do so immediately. Thankfully even though I am a bane to computers I know how to ask friends to do this type of research for me. I knew at best it would be a few hours and may even take days so I took the opportunity to study more on my own. In all the years my dad had been a Knight of the Cross, which was my entire life, I had never felt as scared as I did at this time.

I was still over at Harry's waiting for the results and sitting in a lotus position trying to work on my focus of will when the phone rang. I had heard this particular noise before dozens of times but something about this time shattered my meditation completely and the magic I was slowly gathering and holding slipped through my concentration and my fingers back into the very air around me. I had held magic in the face of bullet aimed at me, but now the simple ring of the telephone threw me for a loop.

It rang two more times before I was able to pick it up and speak hesitantly. "Hello?" I asked in a tone that suggested the actual fear of what I was about to hear.

"Molly." In a single word I recognized both that it was my mom's voice and that she was crying. "Come to Cook County hospital." She said. "It's your father…" I was out the door and on my way in under three minutes.

It is weird the things that run through your mind at times like this. I guess it likely has something to do with facing your own mortality and putting your life into perspective. Part of me knew I should be thinking about my dad, but for some bizarre reason I focused instead on the 1967 Ford Mustang I was driving and how I had acquired this car.

My high school graduation that previous summer was a rather anti-climatic event as far as such things in my life go when all things are considered in perspective. I shared with my classmates the sense of thankfulness that this period in my life was at last coming to an end, and was especially grateful that it was even doing so on its established regular schedule which had not been a complete guarantee after I had dropped out of school for a month or so before Harry made me return. Still, even after beating these odds, I did not feel the sense of overwhelming accomplishment of a noteworthy task completed that those around me did and that we were being told by our parents and teachers we should be proud of.

I understood for the mostly seventeen and eighteen year olds that made up my class this was in many cases their greatest personal success they had yet achieved. It was a chance for them to stride across the stage in front of family and friends and show the world they were ready for the challenges their futures would offer them. I suspect to a student they felt themselves to be almost like the demigods of old.

By comparison I can't really say it was all that big a deal in my own life considering all the trials and tribulations I had been through in the past year. In fact, graduation did not even make my most impressive event for that particular season, though to be fair even I have to admit I do live a rather abnormally interesting life as of late. I gotta wonder if Clark Kent felt the same way I was feeling when he walked across the stage at Smallville High?

As you might have guessed my sarcastic side, which is pretty much my dominant if not only side some days, therefore laughed silently during each of our graduation rehearsals. I would sit there wondering how many of my peers for whom 'the sky is the limit,' which was our recycled theme for this year's ceremony, would really be reaching for the heavens in a few short years and who would still be grounded? I was pretty certain there would be a significant greater percentage that would still be living in their parents' basement when they turned thirty than those who had discovered new worlds for them to conquer; worlds outside of video games I mean.

How many of the class jocks saw professional sports contracts and dollar signs in their futures as they crossed the stage would instead be balding, overweight, and bragging ten years from now about how their high school football days were the pinnacle of their life's success? I had no doubt their stories of scoring on and off the field would far exceed any hope of comparison to their reality.

How many of our beauty queens would end up a decade from now alcoholic couch potatoes watching soap operas while being interrupted by screaming brats. And then having microwaved dinner of last night takeout leftovers would be waiting in vain for husbands who were 'working late' at least three nights a week?

Yeah, I guess I can be pretty dark at times when everyone else is rejoicing. It is probably just in my contrary nature, but it does provide me occasional images to smile about.

Or maybe it was that I could not get as excited about my 'next great step in our lives' because I had already been living my own ever since I had become Harry Dresden's apprentice. At that moment when I had accepted this course to stave off a death sentence my path had been pretty much set for me, and was not one that allowed for much contemplation of alternatives. While I had no idea as a little girl this is what would become of my life, I have to admit I never really secretly wished for the normal female path of career, wife, mother or any order that you might place those three events in.

I always rode my train on a different life track than those around me and I did so proudly. You therefore won't find the name Molly Carpenter called out in our senior yearbooks as 'Most Likely to' do anything because I do not fit into any of those types of role model lives. And the types of things I actually am most likely to accomplish just don't regularly appear in such volumes, and especially not when the yearbook is produced for a Catholic high school.

If I had any friends who were lawyers I think there is probably a good class action lawsuit for wizard apprentices in the making against schools if I were so inclined. Would you believe they do not have a category for 'Most likely to battle a Pagan goddess?' Nor is there anything related to 'Most likely to be elected The Merlin' only 'Most likely to be elected President' as if this lesser title was somehow harder to achieve. As I saw it this second job changed hands every four years, or sometimes even sooner for because of the occupant's criminal activity or death.

The current Merlin by comparison had been holding his office for centuries and showed no signs or stated plans of giving it up in this coming century either. Based upon his power no one dared accuse him of crimes, and I am pretty sure he could not die unless he chose to do so because he was just too damned pigheaded in his ways to make my life any easier in this way. And even if he did I would likely need to be into my own fourth or fifth century of life before I might even be considered for such a position. So with all this in mind don't give me any crap that becoming President was some significant occupational accomplishment in comparison to what it takes to become the head of my profession. And therefore yeah, the school yearbook was not one of my favorite subjects to discuss.

To be fair, I had never wanted to be Ms. Class Popularity, Valedictorian Brain, or Wonder Woman Team Athlete. In fact went far out of my way to avoid even the consideration of any of these types of roles for myself. This was a specific choice of mine and not because I wasn't smart enough or particularly athletic. I just had never been drawn to showing myself off enough to get such public honors.

I knew I had it in me to do these types of things if I tried. I had recently been awarded my yellow belt in Aikido by my master and friend Karrin Murphy, probably the toughest cop you could ever fit into a five foot Barbie doll sized body. The personal respect I had garnered in her eyes as she wrapped the six foot golden belt around my waist for the first time was worth more to me that some acknowledgement of ink on a yearbook page or a trophy to gather dust on my parent's mantle.

Because my life had become so different from the norm, I just could not get into the whole graduation scene that summer as much as my classmates did. If I had a school arch enemy it would be our head cheerleader and she was the spokes model for school graduation it seemed. Jenny Mercer, the most popular girl in school, excuse me while I gag, for example could not wait because her parents were buying her a brand new convertible as a graduation present. Yeah, she was getting a thirty grand toy for doing nothing more than passing classes and making tear filled acceptance speeches at each one of our proms over the past four years that always included the statement that "she was so surprised she won." Yeah, that noise you hear right now is me vomiting over here again. She also dated my brother.

I made sure not to attend our senior prom because this year because I knew I be forced to ask her if her surprise at winning this time was just a lie to get more sympathy or she was really just too stupid to catch on to her guaranteed shoe in victory after the previous three years. Yeah, and princess now gets a new convertible from mommy and daddy too! I will have to look for a spell that makes new leather smell like skunk, preferably dead road kill that has baked for a week on the road. Did I mention that with sarcastic I can also occasionally be cruel? I will try to cast it when Daniel is not in the car; well I will at least consider not casting it then.

By the way my family has nowhere near as much money as Jenny's did partly because she was an only child and I was the first of seven so the money we did have had to go to more pressing long-term needs. Go find out what private schools cost and do the multiplication and you will see what I mean. And this is while my parents are also trying to save something for one or more of us to go to college. I do not think they are too upset it won't be me.

I had assumed my own graduation gift was likely to be a set a hugs from my family, yes even Daniel, and probably a family heirloom or two from my grandmother as an acknowledgement of my achievement. She and I were very close, in fact she loved the fact that I colored my hair and made no judgments of my tattoos or piercings, saying only that she wished she was young enough to live life like this again. Yeah I guess I should mention she and mom do not always see eye to eye and I might get some of my rebelliousness from her. And while her gifts would not be a car I looked at the reality of the situation. It's not like I could use a brand new car anyway. New technology and I are not the best of friends.

I might as well get this out of the way now. I am a wizard, well technically a wizard apprentice. Before you get the wrong ideas let me clear this up for you. Being a wizard does not mean I play with tarot cards, pull furry rodents out of a pointy hat, or am training to walk down the sides of building in Las Vegas. Those are stage magicians and making that type of comparison to what I do is like an architect being compared to kids playing with Lego blocks. Stage magician skills revolve around sleight of hand where as a true wizard's skill is able to smack you with an invisible hand from the other side of the room. There is nothing up my sleeve but some kickass power. Okay not all that much compared to Harry, but impressive to those without it all the same.

Like I said I am only an apprentice, but still that pretty much sealed the fate for my immediate future. I had been gifted at birth with the spark of magic, though if you catch me on a bad day I will say cursed. I do not know the actual numbers but I figure that maybe one of every hundred thousand people are born with this spark and almost always it is because one of their parents had it as well. In my case it is my mother, though my father's sideline occupation may have played a role in this as well.

Mom had been born with the spark of magic like me, but she had chosen to never develop it. She had not had anyone around her to explain how it worked. As far as she understood it was evil and she wanted to deny it as part of herself. She chose instead to let it grow dormant within her, perhaps hoping it would not be passed along to her children. Yeah, you see how well that plan worked out for everyone.

In reality, she probably has done pretty well. While I certainly have the spark, which manifested in my mid-teen years, my brothers Daniel who is seventeen, and Mathew who is fifteen, do not appear to have any signs of this gift themselves. The next in line, my sister Alicia, just turned thirteen so is only coming into the age where her power might manifest. We will see in the next two years if mom's good luck streak continues after I defied all her hopes and expectations, which she often claims to be my sole purpose in life.

I guess it is only fair to say I hardly make my mother's life easy. I am not the most obedient daughter that has ever graced a parent. Every mom likely pictures having their own beautiful princess, who probably looks a lot like Jenny Mercer, growing up with smiles and able to sing so beautifully so as to make the wild birds land on her outstretched hand. Yeah, that is so not this apprentice wizard.

I am tall, nearly six foot in height, which I get from my father, and am considered relatively attractive based upon the fairly common number of appreciative looks I get from males who are not related to me. Currently my hair is white, no not very light blonde, I mean bleached white. It used to be blonde for a while, then half pink and half blue, my two favorite colors of cotton candy, and then was blonde again until I lost a bet with my mother. The bet was actually a wrestling match with her where I was allowed to use all my yellow belt Aikido moves and she just used the skills she had picked up 'here and there' as she put it. I figured I had this one in the bag. While Murphy might have kicked my butt with more flair and grace than my mom did but I think the question of who could do it to me faster would require a photo finish. In fairness did I mention she literally makes chainmail?

That brings us to the results of the bet. Had I won our match, my mother had agreed not to complain about my choices of clothing for an entire month. So sure was I of my victory that I had a whole thirty days of outfits planned out even that would have made this nearly torturous to her. These outfits contained lots of leather and lots of halter tops that my mother absolutely hated to see me wearing. Yeah, getting my butt kicked meant those don't get worn nearly as much as I had thought they would.

Since she won I was forced by the bet to 'dye my hair to a natural color.' You will not I said 'a natural' not 'my natural' color. I was naturally good at finding loopholes much to a certain pagan goddess's dismay. So out of a complete sense of spite I chose to dye my hair white because it was the most unnatural natural color I could find. When mom raised her eyebrow at my choice I pointed out I looked just like grandma Carpenter and she does not dye her hair. Small victory but I was finding wiggling through the clauses in contracts was a talent I was forced to practice for my own survival.

In addition to the white hair I sported a few tattoos, my largest being a snake that started at my neck and slithered in directions and areas that do not concern you. I also had some piercings in similar locations, visible and not, that I liked and mom hated, which was a double bonus for me. I was still upset that Harry, my wizard mentor, made me give up the tongue stud.

This happened all because of a single incident of my mistakenly casting a 'frog' spell rather than a 'fog' spell which did sort of demonstrate effectively that precise pronunciation is probably a good thing at this point in my wizard apprentice career. So after doing battle with a six foot frog that I created out of magic, trashing one part of the apartment and eventually leaving Harry's laboratory covered in ectoplasm goo, the tongue stud went away. Like I said, it's not like I will be asked to play a princess in an upcoming Disney movie. I figure my role in this life was cast as wizard not princess anyway; and to be fair I am pretty damn good at this wizard thing, at least that is what Harry has said when he was not criticizing my skills.

As I hinted at early about six months ago, I, apprentice wizard Molly Carpenter, had defeated a Pagan goddess and stopped some really bad guys from doing some really terrible things, in the process setting right a sixty year old evil. I'd love to see Jenny Mercer take down a golem much less handle being shot at by crazy Nazi wizards and still come out on the winning end. Only a few people of course know I did this but still it was now a prominent entry on my wizard resume as far as I was concerned.

Even cooler is I had been paid pretty well for all of this. I had banked nearly five thousand in cash and four small bags of diamonds that my friends the Rothsteins, who happened to run a jewelry business, estimated were worth twenty-five thousand dollars a bag also. That meant for a week of work I had made more than one hundred grand. I could buy Princess Jenny's convertible three times over if I so desired. But Harry had shown me acting out such petty desires was below the noble reputation of wizards. Therefore I contented myself with just thinking about it and smiling. Well that and researching that skunk smell spell I talked about earlier.

You would think that a teenage girl with access to that kind of cash might go on a mad spending spree. Well you would be right. The diamonds I put away safely because I really did not know what to do with them and they really were very pretty to look at. As I saw it, men could have their dogs. Diamonds did not leave messes on the floor or require you to stand out in the rain while they did their business. I did blow about two of the five grand of cash I had been paid on a new wardrobe, much of it the very clothes I was not allowed to wear around the house, the professional dye job on my hair, and even started looking for an old Volkswagen for my own car since Harry's was fairly reliable if not stylish. Unfortunately the only ones I found seemed to be the stripped down models that Harry's mechanic had been using to keep his running.

That problem was solved for me on graduation when to my complete surprise my parents did in fact give me my own convertible after all. Mine was a 1967 convertible Mustang and had it been in restored condition it would have been easily a match for Jenny's brand new BMW. Yeah, my parents did not have that kind of money.

When I got it, it was rusty and dented and the top was ragged, but it was the first car that was all mine and I admit I cried when dad gave me the keys. I would not have traded with Jenny if she had asked. Well I might after I turned over the engine in the school parking lot for the first time only to have it blow smoke. The way the engine roared though made everyone look my way and you know what, I realized I love it.

Another two grand of my cash went into a quick body job restore with Harry's mechanic. He proclaimed the engine was in good shape after cleaning out the cylinders so the money went to knocking out the dents, repairing the rust, a new top, and a new paint job. Almost everyone has a bright cherry red convertible so I went for a metallic sapphire blue. I loved the color and by midsummer the car, and its driver, were getting looks of approval when I took it out on the road. And with Harry's mechanic, the car was running three quarters of the time at least.

Mom had not pressed me to sign up for college in the fall and you may have noticed it was not something I spent any significant period of time considering. I do not know what arrangements she had made with Harry but it seemed for the next few months my total focus was to be upon getting better control over my wizardry abilities, that or I was going to be forced to put on an orange paper hat and work my summer at Casa de Taco to get experience of working for a living. I chose practicing magic.

It is not like I resented the idea of more practice anyway, though I could not tell either of them that. I can argue that I had made a pretty good showing in my own initial solo outing, but I also knew it had been a very close thing on more than one occasion. The idea of building up both my power and my magical stamina was not something I was opposed to even if I did take every opportunity to complain about how unfair it was.

These complaints though seemed to fall upon deaf ears as Harry continued to refer to me as grasshopper rather than god-killer moniker which I made a pretty decent argument for having earned this title. I was smug until Harry conjured up a small being of the Nevernever before my eyes in his summoning circle and the sprite explained how the darker powers were currently taking bets on how long Harry's apprentice the 'God-Killer' was likely to live with all the beings of the Nevernever thinking how cool it would be among their kind to claim being the one who had killed the so called God-Killer. That bit of first hand information did not make me feel all that happy with myself. Grasshopper was just fine from that moment on.

Now for those you not gifted with magic let me offer that wizard apprenticeship is not merely the learning of magical control and the casting of spells. There is a tremendous amount of study that takes place. In many ways it is like learning history or politics. The Master, Harry in my case, is required to teach the Apprentice, one rather cute and perky former high school girl, all of the various powers and competing interests in the magical realm and the key events from magical history.

Why has the Black Court of vampires nearly been driven to extinction? It is because one of their fledglings killed a woman dear to a certain aspiring author, who you will know by reputation. This author wise enough to know his limitations chose instead of seeking out the creature himself to do battle and likely die to instead write a fictional account of such creatures and let the world hunt them down for him.

Magical history is filled with such trivia and Harry has demonstrated that it is important to know and understand this as much as possible so when dealing with such creatures you do not inadvertently insult them. I gather from Harry's stories it is perfectly fine to purposely insult them, it's only the inadvertent slanders that must be avoided.

Harry explained to me that his own lessons as a boy under the tutelage of his master Justin DuMorne required sitting and memorizing these facts so he could be later tested by some other wizard referred to only as 'Bob.' I think Harry named that dusty skull of his in the basement after this guy, or maybe it's his actual skull, as sort of an honor to the hours of rote memorization he was required to perform. Yeah Harry is a little weird.

Because he did not feel that was the best way to learn, Harry required that three nights a week for I joined him in going over to his friend Billy's apartment and role playing Arcanos. Yes, apprenticeship through role-playing games. If everyone knew about this there were nerds in my class that would likely have been able to challenge the Merlin! So for every week of the summer my character, which just happened to be a young female magician, had to work side-by-side with Billy and his group of nerdy friends called the Alphas, fighting those creatures that Harry threw against us.

Harry explained that for the most part Arcanos had gotten a lot of the details of these creatures right. He even said he suspected that some wizard of the White Council was probably behind the game's design and was raking in the profits from of his own years of study. To that end over the summer Harry served as the Master Gamer providing storyline after storyline for the Alphas and I to solve through a combination of outright battling and my character's spell work. And to make this all just a little more realistic, he forbid my character from learning any spells outside of those that I myself could cast.

Many of you might think this is a wonderful way to learn, and I have to admit that compared to rote memorization it certainly was a more preferable method. But that does not mean it did not have its drawbacks as a teaching tool. For example when faced with a swarm or little flaming fairies, they are called flame sprites, my character decided to cast a wind spell to either blow them out or away. Good idea right? Yeah well it happened at a rather exciting part of the game and when I said _Ventas servitas_ as I was supposed to, well I released real magic.

On the bright side I am not all that powerful with this kind of spell, though I guess my excitement of the moment was helping fuel it. All and all not such a good thing when you consider Arcanos is played primarily with lightweight dice and even lighter weight paper. It took us an hour or so to clean the apartment back up. Totally unfairly, Harry decided not to award my character any experience points for this successful attack either. I guess all in all I got off light on this punishment all things considered.

By the end of the summer my character had advanced in magic spell hurling more than I felt I had, but as far as learning went I have to admit I knew more about the things in the Nevernever than I had ever known before. The stories that Harry and the Alphas provided about their encounters with the Summer and Winter courts filled in even more details for me. I could also recite basic details on the various vampire courts, the most common creatures of the wyldfae, and a scattering of the various evil types of wizards and mortals that one could encounter.

The glaring gap in my study was the subject of dragons, something I pointed out to Harry and asked him if such creatures also existed. He gave me a sidelong look and said that they did indeed, they were incredibly powerful, and he thought it best to avoid them at all costs. Thankfully there did not seem to be many of them. When I asked for more details he merely laughed and said there were others around who probably had much better insight on these creatures than he did and that I should seek them out. He refused to tell me who he was talking about which almost always meant it had to do with my parents. Believe it or not I could not find a casual way of broaching the subject with them over dinner so my questions went unanswered.

You might as well know there was another issue that took up a significant part of my time that summer and early fall. It was the sword _Fidelacchius_ that had once belonged to my adopted grandfather Shiro and now sat half the time displayed upon Harry's mantle and the other half of the time in the umbrella rack by the door. I was fascinated by the sword. There really is no other way to describe it.

My dad being the current senior member of the Knights of the Cross meant that I had more than enough personal experience to know better than to try out the sword. That is not how these blades were passed along to their next owner. Instead the owner had to be found worthy of the blade by the holder of it and be offered the chance to wield it.

Harry, having been given it by Shiro's literal last request, was supposed to find the one best suited to take up the mantle of carrying it. I only knew that the holder had to define the very concept the blade was formed to demonstrate. My dad carried _Amoracchius_, the sword of love. No one who knew my dad could deny that love was his defining character. If I wanted to be worthy of _Fidelacchius_ then it stood to reason I must prove I had faith. Yeah it is one thing to understand it; it is a whole different thing to actually do it.

Believe it or not I actually started trying to better understand all this by talking to Father Forthill. I am not really sure which one of us was more surprised to find me coming to see him outside of normal church services. And I think I nearly caused him to stumble and sit down when I asked him to help me better understand faith.

For the record, Father Forthill is not a stupid man. He likely knew what my objective in this learning was from the very start. That being said I have to admit his eyes seemed to twinkle as if I had received his unspoken blessing to take up this quest. God of course ultimately decided on who he picked to carry his three swords, but I had a feeling father Forthill might be willing to put in a good word for me if the two ever got around to this subject.

Unfortunately the priest was never really able to get me to fully understand. He taught in the same way that I learned about this subject through Catechism and while I grasped the concept behind the words, I never felt like I really understood them. It would be like me explaining magic to someone who had never touched the spark inside them or did not have it.

After three or four discussions we ended back with the very same sentence he started with. In this world there are two types of truths. There are those we can prove with our own eyes and are able to be comprehended by man regardless of his personal beliefs. These are science and their results are known as facts.

Faith on the other hand is the truths we know to exist without proof. Which is great except just how does one demonstrate they have faith? I am not about to pick up poisonous snakes. I may think my tattoo is cool but I know the difference between ink and scales. Thank you no.

I am also not about to step off a building buoyed by the fact that I know God will save me. Father Forthill was very strict about repeating that demonstrations of faith are not tests for God. In the end he explained that perhaps this was something I should meditate on and see if I gain any insight that way. I took this as a convenient way for me to be told to study more and seek my own answers rather than relying solely upon him. I did that, though not likely in the way he expected.

The next time I was over at Harry's house while he was off doing whatever fully certified wizards and Wardens do, I carefully removed _Fidelacchius_ from its sheath and laid it upon a piece of white linen and then traced around it with a black marker. I then weighed the blade before placing it back on the mantle where it was resting at this time.

Over the next week I searched all the martial arts stores in the greater Chicago area until I finally found a wooden practice sword that roughly matched the dimensions and weight of the true blade. Having that I went to Murphy and asked her to train me because she was the only one I knew besides my parents and Sanya perhaps who could.

Karrin explained that sword training normally does not begin until much later when a martial arts student has acquired higher belts, but my previous adventure with her was enough to allow her to bend this rule in my case. So in addition to my twice weekly chance to let Karrin knock me around, I also signed up for a one hour course of abuse with a wooden sword. I suffered this by keeping my eyes upon my goal. Thankfully Harry never caught on to this or he would have immediately understood my plan and nixed it.

If you have ever been to a hospital you will know that parking is nearly impossible to find when you are in any type of a hurry, which most people racing to hospitals usually are. For some reason those other people who merely come to fill a prescription seem to get all the parking spots right up front by the doors while those racing to see a dying family member or make it on time to an appointment are forced to park so far away from the building that they require a passport.

I did not even try to look for something close and instead took the first available spot I came to out in the boondocks and instead ran for the front door. I was thankful at that moment that my wizard training had demonstrated the foolishness of wearing high heels so my currently attired sneakers were just what the doctor would have ordered.

I raced up the stairs toward the pair of doors where a janitor was cleaning the glass and had inadvertently blocked the both entrances with his cleaning cart. Nearby was another old man, this one dressed in the yellow robes of a Buddhist monk and the two appeared to be chatting quite amicably without noticing my apparent need for haste seemingly as if this were a nightly event for the two of them.

"Excuse me sir it's an emergency." I said with obvious duress in my voice between gasps for air.

The old man cleaning the door glass straightened up. He was small and wearing blue coveralls. His name tag read Jake and he had the round belly of an aged man along with short curly grey hair and beard that was almost silver in color against his darker skinned features. He wiped the last part of the window and then turned toward me with clear blue eyes.

"I apologize for causing you a delay young lady when you are obviously concerned for a loved one." He said opening one door and pushing his cart inside as I waited impatiently to make my way past him. I was just reaching for the other door handle when he spoke once more. "Can an old man offer you one more thought young lady before you race off?" He asked and a rare but familiar sensation rolled over me.

It was not the feeling of a magical being that wizards can sense; well not magic like I thought of it anyway. Instead it was a sense of holy righteousness that I had occasionally felt before. Now and then when Father Forthill was in the midst of one of his better sermons I would get a whiff this sensation, though in those rare cases it was fleeting, like smoke carried on the wind. Inevitably mom and dad would praise those talks as if they were indeed messages from God himself.

The most powerful encounter I had with this feeling was six months ago with Ishmael Rothstein when we set free souls killed and trapped in the Holocaust. The old rabbi was at the very peak of his religious power performing an act that would have been recorded in the Old Testament as a miracle of faith had it occurred twenty-five centuries earlier. It was the power of true belief and I could feel this old janitor wore it about himself like a comfortable shirt. This alone was enough to give me pause and then nod for him to proceed since words were failing me.

"Working here I have seen many like you sick with worry for those they care for thinking their loved ones may not leave ever here." He said calmly and soothingly. "For some patients that is true, for more it is not. But for all of them it is merely what was meant to be." He said.

I had no clue what he was trying to convey beyond the obviousness of his words though I sensed there was much more. Had I not been distracted by the need to find my mom and dad I might have tried to puzzle it out for myself. Instead I went for the expedient and truthful course. "I do not understand." I said honestly after a second or two of pause.

He smiled and pushed his cart into the hospital once more looking over his shoulder at me as the dark glass door swung shut behind him. "It is simply Molly." He said surprising me by using my name. "You merely need to have faith that all will be as is intended." The way he said faith resonated within me like a chord being struck and brought me up short before entering.

"Have faith. Do not let these events distract you from what you must do child." The door of dark glass closed behind him making me lose sight of him and his cart for only a moment. I pulled the door beside it open, the one my hand had been resting upon, but in that instant he was gone. And not just him but his entire cart of janitorial supplies as well had simply vanished like the best veil I could cast, though being a sensitive mage I had felt no gathering or release of power. In a half second he and his cart were nowhere to be seen in the large open reception area of the hospital.

I turned quickly to look and see if the Buddhist monk was still there or if I had made up this whole encounter in my mind. I thankfully found him sitting calmly and silently on the steps holding a flower out to me until I turned to regard him. "Would you accept a flower from the Temple of Inner Harmony young lady?"

I took his flower as a means of respect and slipped it into my coat pocket before turning to my own issues. "You were just talking to an elderly janitor." I said as he looked on at me without expression. "Would you happen to know his name?" I asked figuring if he answered that easy question it would prove I had indeed saw someone.

"Names are merely words we clothe ourselves within." He said. "Some are wishes, some are lies, and a very few hold true power and enlightenment. Which one would you be looking for?" He smiled at me in a manner that bespoke he was at peace with the world around him, and obviously knew more than I did.

"Would enlightenment mean I have to don an yellow robe too?" I asked sarcastically.

The old man laughed. "That would only be necessary if you truly desired to do so." He said. "Personally I find your white hair more appealing than an image of you I might envision with a bald head." He paused and the intensity of stare was suddenly much stronger and nearly physical. He looked as serious as Ishmael had and I was starting to wonder if this was a trait all religious men were capable of.

"But you sidestepped my question." He continued. "Do you truly wish enlightenment?"

"You sidestepped mine first." I said defensively. "I just want to know if there was a man standing here a minute ago."

"Ah you doubt your own eyes." He said. "That is bad. And yet that is very good considering all." Okay this guy was really starting to get annoying. Could we just please answer the question so I could get on with my business or have myself committed for observation?

"And?"

"And yes young lady there was indeed a man standing there a moment ago cleaning the glass." He replied. "If you had faith in yourself you would have known that." He said.

The fact that this stranger had chosen to use the word faith as well set me back wondering what was to come, but he merely resumed his lotus position and offered another of his small odd flowers to the next family of three coming up the stairs who all politely declined it. The old monk seemed unphased by this rejection and also by my continual stare in his direction and merely waited patiently and ignored me.

Not knowing what else to do I decided to take my leave at this point and enter the hospital. There was still no sign of Jake or his cart in the big open reception center that I could see and none of the dozen or so people waiting even looked my way. I tucked the mystery of the disappearing janitor away and headed to the desk nurse to ask about my father.

The news was not good, but I had sort of been expecting that it wouldn't be. On the bright side the nurse was able to tell me he was alive and in surgery. She gave me directions and I was off.

Five minutes later I was entering the waiting area outside the emergency room and immediately saw my mother because of the familiar coat she was still wearing. I came up short noting she was all alone sitting in the corner with her head in her hands. I never before had seen her look so small and fragile as she did at that very moment. My mom and I do not agree but I respect that she is every ounce a fighter. The woman had gone up against fairies with only a carpenter's nail gun in order to come rescue me from some really bad things. Now she was a shattered shell; the panic of losing my father too much of a blow for her natural stoicism to handle.

I walked over to her and laid my hand on her shoulder causing her to look up at me. "I am here mom." I said to her as she tried to rally her own strength for me. "It will be okay. We just have to have faith."


	2. Chapter 2

**Semper Fidelis**

_**Chapter 2**_

I choose not to think about how long my mother and I sat there waiting for word on my father's condition. Minutes seemed like hours, and while I might try to make an estimate by the fact that after so many hours I should naturally desire food, at no time did I ever get hungry. I just sat holding my mom and promising her it would be alright while she cried and said nothing.

At some point Harry arrived, and if anyone looked as bad physically from the strain as I felt internally it was Harry. He asked after my father and of course we told him what we knew, which was not good news, but still better than saying he was dead or would never walk again. Like me, I think the uncertainty of not knowing and being able to brace yourself hurt the most. He nodded when we finished and apparently not sure of himself made to leave assuming for some reason that he was not wanted, or that he was intruding upon a private family event.

My mom felt me tense up when he declared he was going to depart. I knew my mother and Harry did not see eye to eye on many things, me being the most prominent item on that list and laughed at how I did not require a boyfriend to achieve that necessary mother-daughter moment, but that still did not in my book require him to leave and suffer in silence. I made to speak up but my mother gripped my arm tightly, silencing me before I could ask him to stay. And to my surprise she was the one to make the offer.

"No." Her eyes that had been distant and full of worry for all the time I had held her now seemed filled with a fiery determination as she looked up at Harry. This abrupt change in her literally made me blink wondering if the strong woman I knew as mom had returned to me.

"Families stay, Harry." She lifted her chin as if nodding for him to claim one of the nearby chairs and join us. "He would stay for you."

Harry seemed shaken by her words and half stumbled into sitting in the chair she had indicated. I could see clearly that he blamed himself, Harry was like that, all heart and few brains, and would never realize that he was no more to blame for everything that happened than God. While neither my mother nor I was willing to speak of it, we both knew this was the life my father chose to lead, helping those who needed him as God requested. And when the time came, perhaps today, God would call him home.

The three of us sat in silence for hours, I still holding my mom and Harry staring out into nowhere, occasionally searching for a clock to let him know how long we waited. I spent much of that time thinking of my father and all he had taught me. I was not a daddy's girl, but I loved my dad; more than that I respected him. How many teens can say that about their parents?

For some reason I could not get one particular image out of my mind. When I had been five my dad took the training wheels off my bike. I was so proud as he helped me to learn to balance and ride. When I finally thought I had mastered it he had let me go. At which point I fell taking my bicycle with me and skinning my knee really badly.

I only had two little brothers at the time but that did not mean money was not tight for our family. I remember looking down and seeing the new pair of school jeans my mother had bought for me now had a huge tear in the knee and were ruined even before I saw and then felt the blood from my cut turning the open area around the cut dark. I began at once to cry; partly in pain and partly in shame for ruining my new clothes that dad and mom had worked so hard to get for me. I was afraid they were going to be mad.

But my dad scooped me up in his arms and brushed away my tears. To this day I still do not understand how a man who hands were so rough and calloused from his construction jobs and holding a sword could still have such a soft touch with his fingers. As my eyes looked up at him he kissed me on the forehead like he always did and crushed me tight to him promising me that everything would be alright. And suddenly the pain and the shame were gone and I smiled.

He put me back on my bicycle and had me try again even though I was afraid. He told me not to worry that he would be right here to pick me up again if I fell and that he always would be. He said no matter how many times in life I would fall, he would always be there for me if God were willing. And he ended that little speech with words he always said. "Keep trying Molly. With love all things are possible." That seems in context ironically appropriate for the man who wielded God's sword called 'Love.' I hoped my dad knew what he was talking about because the number of people who loved him should be enough to heal him now and bring him back to us.

The doctor came to talk to my mom while I was in these memories. He spoke low but of course since we were all sitting close by we had no problem hearing what he had to say. The bad news was that dad's condition had not improved much as they performed surgery on him and pumped more pints of blood into his body just slightly faster than he was losing it. The good news, however, was that he had not gotten any worse through this additional trauma either. While the doctor did not want to give us false hope, he also did not want to provide us unnecessary despair. In the end he merely promised that the entire staff was doing all they could for my father.

We went back into a silent mode after the doctor left. Harry was too embarrassed or felt too guilty to talk. Mom was nearly catatonic in my arms and had it not been for me feeling her breathing on my neck I might have suspected the strain of worry too much for her. As for me, I just had nothing I could come up with to say except whispers to my mom I made that promised everything would be alright.

"Do you have faith Molly?" My head snapped up thinking someone had spoken to me but there was no one there except the three of us and while my mom shifted with my sudden movement it had been a male voice I knew I had heard. Harry, the only male, had a thousand mile stare down going with the clock, likely replaying the events that had brought hurt to my dad in his mind. I was going to dismiss the question completely when I realized it had been the odd janitor from outside the hospital whose voice I had heard.

I looked around again to confirm Jake was not standing nearby and I had somehow overlooked him and found I was correct, there were only us three in the waiting room. I did note a another hour had passed in the interim and since the doctors had not come out to provide us any bad news it meant at the worst dad was still alive and the hospital was still fighting to keep him that way. That thought brought me comfort.

"With life there is always hope Molly." I heard my dad say and suddenly I was thirteen years old again and sitting with him in the principal's office at school. The part of my mind that realized this was merely a memory once more even identified when this was – having spent a fair share of time in the principal's office there was room for confusion. I was comforted by being there in my mind with my dad.

There was this boy Woody I had grown up with and gone to school with since, well since I had started going to school. We had been friends as kids but as I reached that age where there were noticeable changes taking place with my body Woody's reaction to me had also changed. He started to make fun of me in front of others, first teasing and then cruel. Charity's first born daughter did not find that an acceptable situation.

On the day in question for this particular memory, Woody had made some comment about the way my shirts were ballooning out and saying I must be smuggling things and to show us what I had. He said this right in front of the entire class who all got a good laugh out of his joke at my expense. My teacher who I looked to for support did not say anything but at least did not join in the laughter.

I calmly stood up and walked over to him obviously furious and ignoring my teacher's orders to take my seat. In fairness I barely heard it over the "oooooos" the rest of the class made for dramatic sound effects for the upcoming confrontation. For his part Woody tried to play it cool by not standing up to face me, partly because I had recently had my growth spurt and was taller than him, and partly to try and show the class he did not consider me a threat. This was a stupid decision on his part.

I leaned over placing my hands on his desk and saying slowly and just loudly enough for everyone to hear. "Apologize!"

I could see him swallow and blink and had I understood male egos I might have chosen a slightly less than all or nothing confrontation approach. With no way out except humiliation he made his choice.

"No."

"Ok." I said and began to stand up feeling the tension in the room ease just a bit as I pulled back. Then I slid my hands to each side of his desk and lifted, flipping it, and him, over backward, spilling the contents of both on the ground. I brushed my hands clean and headed for my seat, almost making it before the teacher ordered me to the principal's office and the class broke out in laughter and taunts aimed at Woody this time.

He principal called my dad. Speed dial was a new addition at the school yet for some strange reason my parent's number occupied the first available slot after 911 and poison control. I swear I have no idea why this would be. And within thirty minutes my father had arrive at the school, having come directly from working on a job to speak to the school administrators about his wayward daughter.

The school was fair and I was allowed to provide my side of the story. Being a private school they also called Woody into the office so he could hear my accusations against him and defend himself accordingly to the principal as well. Woody of course did just that, and lied his ass off in the process denying he had done anything wrong. According to him I had flipped over his desk for no apparent reason.

My dad listened and said only one thing, more or less in my defense, to Woody.

"Son, you know it is a sin to lie, right?" Being a Catholic school dropping that particular S-word was as shocking as dropping a certain other S-word. He looked the boy in the eye but Woody would not meet his gaze.

"I know and I ain't lying." Woody said.

After a pause my dad let out his breath and spoke quietly again. "Thank you son. Go with God." Woody looked from my dad to the principal who nodded that he was allowed to leave and fled the room offering me only a quick glance and hint of a smile to say now I was all alone in the lion's den and he had successfully escaped punishment again.

The principal said I would not be suspended over this particular incident since my motivations may have an element of divine righteousness to them, Woody was a common visitor to the principal's office too so his testimony was in doubt, but I was still scolded with statements of turning the other cheek and being asked 'What Would Jesus have done;' that being the current religious catchphrase.

Personally I could not picture Jesus wearing a schoolgirl outfit or his fitting like mine if he did so the question was hardly balanced. A small part of my mind also pointed out that there in very little to nothing said of Jesus's awkward teenage years in the Bible either so it is very possible he might have reacted like me if some of the kids his age made fun of how he looked while swimming or something.

I could actually have said Jesus inspired this action in his treatment of the moneylenders on the steps of the temple but decided that might have been pushing my luck. I will admit I was not stupid enough to voice these obvious points in my defense to the principal, who was a priest by the way, and merely nodded my head in contrition and admitted I was wrong instead to get this lecture part over and move to punishment.

The sentence ended up being afterschool detention for the rest of the week, which since it was already being Wednesday and therefore not as bad as if it had been Monday made me keep my mouth shut to the principal about this injustice heaped upon me compared to Woody getting off scot free. Instead I merely nodded in an outward submissive acceptance of their wisdom, an act I had developed over the years while listening to my mother, and was sent back to class.

Dad walked out with me and it was him I was worried most about disappointing. He did not saying anything as I walked with him toward the front door to see him off so I had to speak up first in my defense.

"Dad, you do know Woody was lying right?" I could not stand to have my father think terribly of me.

"Of course I do Molly." His words were comforting to me by using my nickname and not calling me Margaret which was used only when I was in real trouble. "Your principal knew it also."

"But then why didn't you accuse him of this?" I asked confused. "Why am I the only one getting punished?"

"That is because Molly, Woody's soul is in danger." My dad explained. "He is being called away from faith and toward darkness. It happens to all boys at some point in their teenage years, and by taking action and making him even more resentful against society and the Church we would push him further into the arms of resentment and hate and all the emotions the enemy uses to corrupt souls. Instead of joining you today after school and having him stew and simmer on life's injustice, he will, we hope, instead go home and reflect upon what happened this day was his making and come to realize the error of his ways and repent on his own."

"You really think that he will do that?" I asked very skeptically.

"No." Dad said. "I _hope_ he will do it." He stressed the word hope. "God offers us hope so that no matter how bad things get, we still have the ability to make things right if we choose to. The principal and I hope by taking this course we bring Woody back to God."

Okay, that was really deep for a teenage girl to understand but since my dad said it, and he never lies, I accepted there was wisdom there that I did not comprehend yet.

"What about me stewing at detention and being pulled further from God?" I asked.

"That will not happen in part because now you understand the danger but even more so because you are strong Molly, stronger than Woody will ever be." My dad said smiling at me. "I will not say you will not require moments of hope in your life Molly. But I see instead you are more likely to spend your days bringing hope to others." He said making me even take a small step backwards.

Before I could respond he turned. "I will tell your mother I am picking you up after school so you will not have to walk home." He said opening the door and walking out. "I love you Molly." He said and then went back to work.

"I love you too dad." I said in a whisper, then came back to the here and now realizing I had said it aloud when my mom squeezed me tightly after hearing me say this. But in my head I head Jake's voice. "I did not ask about Hope Molly, I asked you do you have faith?" Of course the janitor was no where around.

The doctor chose that time to return. I glanced at the clock and noted it was almost seven, though being unsure of my rambling mind if that was a.m. or p.m. He told us my dad was still alive and there were wheeling him into a last round of surgery. The trauma his body had suffered was extensive and all their procedures to this time had been to stop any of these from deteriorating further and killing him. Now that they had fought their way to middle ground they had to turn their attention to repairing him as best they could.

The doctor also explained that surgery, any surgery, puts additional strains upon the body and when that body has already been weakened by injury sometimes that strain is too much. My dad's body had been through a tremendous amount of strain in the past day from the injuries to the surgeries that had kept him from dying. But now the staff had to do more if they had any hope of keeping him alive in more than just a vegetative state.

"We could not find you husband's wallet." The doctor said at the end sort of changing the subject. I thought this was a weird time to start asking about insurance. I was wrong.

"In case of the worst, do you know if he was an organ donor?" The doctor asked.

I felt my mother tense and even Harry's eyes hardened over but before I could object my mom spoke out. "Yes, of course he is." She said with just a hint of anger in her words, far better than I would have managed to pull off if I had answered. The doctor nodded and left us there and Harry suggested we go down to the cafeteria for some dinner, which answered my question of morning or evening. On the way he excused himself and went to stretch his legs while I took mom to the cafeteria.

On the way there I saw Jake the janitor casually wheeling his cart of cleaning supplies right past us down the hall. Our eyes almost met as we got within five feet of each other but I turned away, fearing a soulgaze with a stranger. I heard the his voice in my head again asking the same question. "Do you have faith Molly?" He asked but when I looked at him, now still walking away down the corridor he was not even looking in my direction.

Had my mother not been on my arm I might have chased him down, but I could not leave her and the cafeteria was still some distance away. I chalked it off as part of the same dream and focused instead on making my mom eat, while I suspect her focus was on me doing the same. In the end we both did each to appease the other I think.

By the time we made it back to the waiting room Harry was already there and from his look he appeared shaken. I assumed the worst but he caught my eye and understood quickly saying that there had been no word from the doctors and that my dad was still in surgery. I wanted to ask Harry what had made him appear so shaken, but now was not the time.

After ten that night the doctors returned and said my dad had come through the surgery and would likely live though there could be long term issues. Mom asked to see him and the doctor said it would still be a few hours. I was overjoyed until Harry pointed out he and I would have to leave if dad was on life support or chance our inherent ability to short out electronic would make his systems fail as well.

Mom understood and asked me to go inform my brothers and sisters for her and take over from Father Forthill who was babysitting. I promised I would and gave her a kiss on the cheek and a hug, something I had not done in months, and followed Harry out.

He called Thomas to give him a ride even though I offered to take him in my Mustang. Murphy's house was out of my way and Harry knew that so he said he was fine and sent me to do what mom had requested of me. He headed out via the emergency room exit where Thomas would pick him up while I made my way back through the hallways of the hospital toward the main entrance. In part it was because I sensed Harry wanted to be alone and on the other hand with all the snow and cold outside, plus the fact Chicago is known as The Windy City, I also had no desire to add any additional steps to my walk outside that was not absolutely required.

I have told you I am a wizard by nature but I do not think I mentioned my area of specialty is what Harry calls 'sensitive magic.' Harry can toss around raw power, mostly fire and gusts of air, when he uses his magic that is pretty impressive and more than a little intimidating to behold. Other things like defensive shields also come easier to him than me, even when accounting for his two decades more of practice under his belt. But there are other types of spells, ones like veils that are designed to block the sight of others, that are outside his natural talents.

Those types of spells, the ones that affected the senses or the mind, are ones that come much more naturally easy for me. In fact, even with Harry's twenty years of experience I could pull up a better veil than he could, faster than him, and sustain it much longer over a greater area than he can. I do not know how to better explain it than I just understood this type of magic, or I could just 'feel' this type of magic, better than I could those of violence. Not to say I could not do the damaging kind when required, and those were thankfully getting stronger with practice, but I understood it would be sometime before I was a serious threat in those areas if ever.

One of the advantages of being a sensitive wizard meant that I literally felt magic around me much better than other wizards could. If someone drew up power in preparation to cast a spell I sensed that summoning because it felt like a gust of wind flowing over my soul toward some destination. I also could feel the presence of other types of mystical energy, though not what wizards were willing to consider true magic, such as faith-based power. And as I headed toward the front doors where I had originally entered and was now not so distracted as I had been when I arrive I began to sense a well of such faith-based power coming from somewhere ahead of me.

As I reached the main lobby area I found that it was almost totally deserted, which I guess based upon the weather was not all that odd. Those injured badly or deathly ill would call an ambulance and be taken to the emergency entrance. Those who could wait, to include the hypochondriacs among us, would choose that course tonight rather than brave driving in the cold and snow.

Even the duty nurse was not at her desk. In fact the only one in the lobby was the strange little Buddhist monk who had been offering flowers outside to those who entered. He sat in a lotus position and seemed in a distant trance until he heard the rubber soles of my running shoes squeak on the tiled floors and looked up at me as I was walking past.

"I am please that your loved one is feeling better." He said with an all too knowing smile plastered comfortably on his face. That, plus the fact he had been talking earlier with the owner of the newest voice in my head was enough to bring me up short in suspicion since he was the obvious source of the faith-based power I sensed. Harry said a wizard must always trust their instincts because they could sense much the mind ignored and mine told me right then there was something uncommon, yet not unnatural, about this man sitting before me. I evaluated that was worth a quick detour.

"I guess I should ask you how you know my father is feeling better but I expect you will go all Zen on me and say something about the harmony of the universe and how all things are interconnected won't you?" I said with skeptical caution.

"Hardly." He smiled warmly back at me. "Zen is so 1980s and for my taste was way too commercialized." He laughed keeping me even further off balance by such a honest response.

"I thought your type was into Zen."

"We understand the concept and it is indeed a childlike explanation for what we focus upon but it is more like a child's drawing of the sun compared to the real thing. While children have a wonderful connection to the universe, they can't quite comprehend its intricacies." He explained. "And in case you are wondering, the ideas proclaimed in _Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Repair_ are completely fictitious. You can no more reach a state of Zen working on a motorcycle no matter the year, make, or model, than you can reach up and touch the sun."

I had never heard of the book he seemed to be referring to but obviously it was a subject near and dear to his heart. "So how did you know my father was doing better?"

"Because you walk was no longer of singularly, determined, and hurried purpose." He said. "The last time you strode like an avenging angel, to use the terms familiar to you, and now you walk with less concern and more planning like you are considering the things you have to do. And since you are looking up and not crying I can assume the one you cared about was not dead and had improved enough for you to feel confident to leave this place."

"You got that all from my walk?" I asked.

"Yeah, your sneakers told me." He said with a smile.

I really did not know what to say and was about to make my excuse to leave when he spoke again. "Now may I ask you a question young lady?" He said.

"Let me guess it's about faith isn't it?" I said back before I even though of what I was saying.

He cocked his head askew sort of like the way Harry's cat Mister did if you told him to get off of the couch so you could sit down. "And why would you think that?" He asked with a hesitant smile that told me I was probably right in my guess.

"Well since your friend Jake the Janitor told me I needed to have faith I keep hearing his voice in my head." I responded. "I do not suppose you know anything about that?" I asked skeptically.

"While he may be one of the less ostentatious of his kind, Uriel is also very focused upon his the roles he is tasked to perform." The old man said to me with a smile, ignoring the sudden shock that his casual response that an archangel was the one telling me to have faith had upon me once I recognized the name he had spoken.

Of course my first reaction was to deny, deny, deny that such a thing was remotely possible. I came from a highly religious family so the very thought that I was personally having dealings with an archangel, perhaps the one who was responsible for the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah if I recalled correctly, who between cleanup jobs was casually telling me to have faith seemed to bridge upon blasphemy or insanity; take your pick.

But then another part of me voiced up in my mind and reminded me that I had dealt with a pagan goddess only half a year ago so it was not like such things were beyond the realm of possibility. And as I thought about it further, was it really so hard to believe that one of God's archangels might happen to be at the very hospital where one of those who carried one of God's three righteous swords into battle was in a battle for his life as well? In many ways the idea brought comfort to me in that it was proof all I had ever been taught about God caring for us.

I looked once more at the old Buddhist monk who seemed completely unphased by his revelation as if this event was an everyday occurrence. I wonder if this was his real state of being or in his order when someone shaves there head they are forced to spend the first few days in front of a mirror working on their 'I got the secret to the universe' look.

"So what did you want to ask me?" I inquired.

"I was merely going to ask if you have faith…"

"See!" I said smugly. "I knew it!"

"…in yourself." He finished, sort of taking the wind out of my sails with this clarification.

I thought about immediately answering with 'of course' but something in the way his eyes were studying me gave me pause. "I am not sure by which standard one would judge this, but I can only say that I try my best when faced with a challenge." And I banished a pagan goddess and defeated a Nazi plot only a short time after becoming old enough to vote so yeah I think I do alright. I admit I did not say all those last words aloud, but I thought them really loud in my mind!

"You have sprouts of wisdom for one so young. I hope they continue to grow." He nodded with a smile to me. "You are a wizard yes?" He asked continuing his run of surprising revelations about me in this conversation.

"I am." Seeing no reason to deny what he obviously knew already.

"Then can you explain to me where your power comes from?" He asked with a smile.

"My magic?" I asked confused to which he made no indication if my assumption was correct but I continued anyway. It made sense that someone dedicated to faith might not understand power from another source. "It comes from the world around me, from the air, from the land, from everything." I replied with the textbook answer just like Harry had taught me when I first started as his apprentice and had drilled me with this question.

"That is where magic comes from." He nodded in agreement. But then his expression changed. "But what I asked you instead was where does _your_ power come from?" He repeated.

"I do not understand." I said confused.

"I suspected as much." He replied and stood up slowly. "Would you allow an old man to show you something?"

There was a time when a question phrased that way might have made me suspect ulterior and less than altruistic motives but due to my encounter with a pair of elderly men who literally gave everything of themselves for a noble cause I was willing to entertain this one now standing before me. "Please do." I said with a nod.

He used his sandal clad foot, please keep in mind it is Chicago and there is snow on the ground, to tap an open spot of carpet in the lobby area and told me to take a seat. I did so assuming the lotus position like he had been sitting in and this seemed to please him.

"I did not expect that of a wizard. Does your master follow the way of the lotus?" He asked and for the first time seemed surprised by something I seemed to know.

"Not my wizard master." I said honestly. "But my Aikido master is very serious about it and my muscles still ache from the pushups she made me do when I forgot this was the proper and respectful way to sit when training with her."

"She sounds like a wonderful woman." He nodded approvingly at my description.

"Yeah I had that opinion myself up until about the hundredth time or so that she knocked me on my butt." This made him chuckle all the more at my joke even though I was not exactly kidding about this.

"Close your eyes and I want you to picture in your mind that your body is a series of three closed doors." He said standing behind me as I did as he commanded. "I am going to touch three points on your back and when I do I want you to picture in your mind a door opening each time. Nod if you understand." He said to me and I did so slowly to keep the image of three doors he told me to picture firmly in place.

"As children when we are born we are graced with the potential that all things are possible." He said. "As we grow in those first years we learn that life cannot hold us back if we just dedicate our minds and bodies to learning. We learn to crawl. We learn to walk. We learn to run. We find within ourselves that our bodies shall do whatever we want of them if we are only willing to try." He explained.

"But then we are taught lies of what we cannot do." He said with a disapproving tone of voice. "And because people we know and trust tell us that what we think we can do is impossible, we believe them and make it so. We shackle our bodies with these chains and hold ourselves down no longer willing to believe we can."

I felt his fingertip come down on the spot where my head met the top of my neck and press into the flesh like a key pushing into a lock and he held it there. As he commanded I visualized opening the first door, it looked like a screen door in my imagination as I listened to him speak.

"This is the spot that contains your mind." He said. "When you face a challenge that you do not believe is within your capabilities or which doubts make you hesitant to attempt, it is here that this door locks and prevents you from success. I have shown you where it is and let me now show you what it does." He turned his finger a quarter turn and suddenly all the fatigue my body felt fell away as the door swung wide.

I felt revitalized and refreshed, better than from the best night of sleep I ever had. I nearly swooned with the feeling rushing through me but the power gave me energy and revitalized me in an instant. It was as if all of my senses had awakened full and I felt more at that moment than I had seconds before. This was incredible.

"While we listen to others and chain ourselves down, we also add our own chains just by living our lives." He continued and I fought my way through this overpowering feeling to ignore the rush of my senses and focus on his words and wisdom.

"As a child we know only love." He said. "Our first registered thought is looking into the eyes of those who love us and make us smile and it fills us with warmth."

"But as we grow that is cut away by many separate little heartbreaks we encounter." He said. "We lose touch with some of those we love and it hurts so we think the love is gone. Our parents teach us discipline through the word 'no' when we want something, and being denied hurts us too. And with each of these little hurts we feel love become just a little smaller until only a very few rare people can show us the love is still within us." He explained.

His finger now touched just to the left of my spine, like a doctor's stethoscope, directly over my heart. "When we fall in love with another all we truly experience is a chance to feel that sense of open and endless love we have when we are first born." He said and I forced the picture of another door opening, this one seemed like a solid heavy wooden door, in my imagination. I felt his finger turn like a key once more.

In my Catechism classes we learned of what the Bible called 'The Rapture' and how God's love at that moment would fill us completely. As the old man's finger turned it seemed to me like this was the feeling he was releasing and that I felt within myself. I saw the worry that I had that my dad would die had made me fearful that I would be hurt worse, so I pushed away some of my love for him in order to protect myself from the pain of losing him. Now though I saw that even if it did happen, his love for me, and mine for him, would not die out. It was a part of both of us, and was eternal just as he had always told me it was. He would always be there to pick me up when I fell.

I could feel tears unabashedly streaming down my cheeks as the old man continued. "Last there is the spark of the divine in all of us." He said and I knew he was talking of the spirit, or the soul, or chi, or whatever the various cultures around the world chose to call it. "It is our connection to the divine, and part of the divine, therefore since the divine can do anything, it is the part in us that can do anything as well." He said letting his fingertip touch my spine right at the center of my lower back.

I pictured the door, this one felt a heavy steel like one guarding a safe in weight, but through my efforts of will it slowly open a crack for me as his finger turned. "When I asked you where your power comes from, or as my people would speak of it, your mana, this is what I was speaking of." At that instant it felt like a mere drop of liquid fire escaped from behind this door of my mind and into the base of my spine then suddenly it flooded throughout my entire body with the same sensation I felt only a little stronger when Harry had me call up magic and hold it for as long as I could.

"Open your eyes not child." He said to me and I did as he asked without question or hesitation much like I followed Karrin's instructions when practicing Aikido.

"Do you know a spell to make light?" He asked and I merely nodded, overwhelmed with this feeling.

"Show me."

My hand drew out the crucifix that my mother had given me from my shirt and I willed my magic to flow into it. "Illuminate!" I ordered and the room suddenly was awash in a sparkling dazzle of light stronger and more encompassing than I had ever cast, yet not blinding so as if the spell instinctively understood the goal was to brighten and not blind. In an instant I could see everything in the room with crystal clarity and yet this did not cause me the slightest discomfort at all.

"You may let it go." He said and I did allowing things to return to normal. And then a sudden sense of spiritual fatigue hit me and I swayed and nearly toppled over were it not for his hands on my shoulders to steady me.

"What happened?" I said as the momentary sense disorientation faded away leaving me back to the state I was feeling before we began this odd instruction.

"You have learned how to add your mana to your magic." He said nodding in approval.

I thought on that and instantly something in the way he described it based upon what I had been taught made me concerned. "If I used up some of my soul to power a spell, then haven't I just released an important part of myself?" I asked. Remember I am Catholic so the idea of chipping away at my soul is not something I was prepared to accept even if it did make a pretty cool impact on my magic.

"Not at all child." He said. "Let me explain in terms you might better understand. Your soul is like a pitcher that holds water. When you pour out a little of the liquid a pitcher holds the pitcher itself does not change. And even when it is emptied completely it can be refilled once more can it not?" He said and I merely nodded at his example.

"So I did not just release a part of my soul I released the water it contained?" I asked.

"Like I explained earlier we call it mana. That way it sounds a little more mystical and we can charge your rich rock stars even more for the experience." He said with a laugh. "But yes that is all you did. Over time it will slowly refill all on its own. However, if your care for another lesson sometime I can show you exercises that will allow you to refill it faster."

"You are telling me you have exercises for your soul?" I said wondering if they have the equivalent of a seven minute abs video too.

"Of course." He said with a smile. "Perhaps you have heard of it. I think here in the west you call it yoga." He laughed.

I do not know why that shouldn't surprise me but perhaps having my mind still open I suddenly understood what he was saying. It actually made sense too that so many places that taught yoga always advertised that after a good workout you felt more refreshed and alive even though you had exercised. The old man had shown me something incredibly important. And the fact that he had made me highly suspicious.

"Why did you show me this?" I asked as I stood up. "Did Uriel put you up to it or are you one of his kind as well?"

The old man laughed. "No I am not like the Watchman." He said with a chuckle. "And I am also not under a service obligation to him either. I merely happened to be here at this place in time and even happier I could show you this." He smiled. "Would you consider taking a flower now?" He asked holding out a blue lotus to me and I took it.

"So I do not owe you anything?"

"Nothing at all; though if you chose to smile a little more I would admit it warms this old man's heart to see it." I did as he asked without even trying. "Now I have wasted enough of your time. You should be back about your business and remember what you have learned here tonight." I could do nothing else but agree.

"One thing first." I said. "What is your name since I have this odd feeling we will see each other again."

He smiled all the more. "I would not be surprised if that were so." He answered. "I am called Hisha by those who would name me a friend. I hope you would do me such an honor as well."

"It is a pleasure to meet you Hisha." I replied. "My name is Molly, Molly Carpenter."

"Ah yes, Carpenter." He said as he sat back into a lotus position of his own. "As was the occupation of the Christian savior. It is a good name and like Uriel directed you to do, it should serve as a constant reminder for you to always have faith." He said and then once more closed his eyes as if meditating and being at peace with the world like when I found him a few moments ago. With that word faith flying around I think it was fair to assume someone powerful was trying to tell me something.


	3. Chapter 3

**Semper Fidelis**

_**Chapter 3**_

I pulled up at home and even before I had turned the engine off the door to my parent's house swung open and my younger brother Daniel stormed out to face me with his ever present sidekick Matthew in tow. Daniel is seventeen, two years younger than me, and I do not think he has ever forgiven my parents for not being first born. Matthew is fifteen and generally looks up to his brother more so than me placing the balance of power between us on a precarious perch. But that only is when I am willing to entertain a challenge. At the moment I was emotionally and physically exhausted from the ordeal with a very short fuse. And Daniel, of course was holding the matches.

I should be fair and put this difference between Daniel and me in context. We were probably as diametrically opposed as two siblings could be. The whole athlete and popularity thing was just not for me. Daniel however, who just turned seventeen and started his senior year of high school this fall, was a shoe in for the best athlete award of his class. His life was seemingly devoted first and foremost to sports. Whatever the team sport of the season the school was promoting, Daniel was best among his classmates and respectable among his peers city-wide throughout Chicago. I'd say that part of me was proud of him, but being that he is my younger brother that is not allowed under the universally established guidelines.

His second and possibly only other actual talent of note was metal shop. His shop teacher's praise amounted to that Daniel had a natural flair for this skill set every bit as strong as his athletic ability. It was a near certainty that the rest of my brother's life would focus upon one of these two areas. Sports of course would be his first choice but I was happy to see that unlike so many others with such dreams he had something to fall back upon. Metal working, though it paid less, would provide steady work and like my magic was probably genetically passed down also.

For you sexists out there it probably is important that you know he inherited this talent from my mother and not my father. The things she can do with a hammer and anvil would remove those snickering smiles you are probably wearing right now. I bet there are not five women alive today who have created their own set of chainmail from scratch. But I guess being fair, my clan is not exactly what an outsider would call a normal American family if they knew all our secrets.

But with the two notable exceptions of shop and physical education, all the other areas of school had been challenging to Daniel. He was only going to make it across that graduation stage next summer because of the monumental support of some very devoted teachers and tutors who squeaked him through his required classes.

I remember it took the brightest mathematical brains in our school six months to get Daniel to accept that algebra used letters instead of numbers to solve problems. That concept was still a sore subject with him more than two years later and one that I made sure to use to get a dig in with whenever my brother got too high on himself, which for a seventeen year old captain of the football team type of guy is pretty much all the time. Nothing brought super athlete Daniel down to reality faster in front of his admiring fans while telling his story of hitting the winning homerun as me asking "Hey Daniel…what does X equal?"

So you do not get the wrong idea, while I may be a bit sarcastic and hard on my brother for being one of those lucky individuals who succeed in living the high school dream, I did actually love the guy, and even admitted it to myself occasionally but of course never out loud to him. In fairness also he rarely had an excess of kind words for me either because that is just the type of relationship we shared.

Since my own 'skills' had become known to my family, Daniel and I had grown a bit more apart because we just did not know how to deal with each other anymore. Even with my dad's 'other job' what I was capable of was beyond his comprehension and so as much as he could he denied it; and when that did not work he avoided me.

Daniel dreamed of living the normal American life and I knew that because of my 'gift' I had been forever that possibility. There is no such thing as peaceful obscurity when the White Council is watching your every move ready to evoke a death sentence. So Daniel set himself up as a Ken Doll look and act alike and I was…well let's just say until some twisted toy company comes out with Goth Wizard Barbie there really is not a comparable doll to describe me. And I pity the poor five year old girl who gets one of those for her birthday!

Oh, and before I forget it, my brother has been dating Jenny Mercer for about two years now. So yeah, I guess Daniel and I do have a few unresolved issues between us. And of course all of this decided to come to a head moments after I pulled into the driveway.

"Where the hell have you been?" Daniel demanded just seconds after I cracked the door but before I was even able to get a foot on the ground. He compounded this by literally yanking the door open further and ripping it from my grip in the process.

"Daniel your language!" Father Forthill scolded from the open doorway of the house. He was holding little Harry, named after my wizard master since he had helped save the baby's life along with my mother's on the night he was born. Mom still says she was hopped up on pain medication and that dad had named him but I was not buying that for a moment. It made me happy he was awake yet resting comfortably in the priest's arms and neither of them seemed eager to come all the way outside. It was nice to see someone was exhibiting some common sense for a cold November night in Chicago.

"It's not about my language father." Daniel shot back making my eyes widen in surprise and telling me just how much he was worried. In fairness I blame myself because I had not thought to call home and mom certainly was not of the mindset to remember that either until we knew dad was safely out of surgery. Therefore I was willing to excuse his outburst as a venting of his personal anxiety.

I started to stand. "Relax little brother." I said trying to use familiar terms to ease his mind. The problem with that is Daniel had about four inches of height on me after his last growth spurt and another hundred pounds or so of muscle. Yeah the combination of metal shop and sports will do that to you. Oh and Daniel hates when I refer to him as little brother so all in all my natural reaction sort of backfired on me.

"Don't push me Molly!" He warned and puffed himself up as I reached my feet and had to tilt my head just slightly to look him almost in the eyes. Sometime I hate a soulgaze ability.

I stepped around my car door and closed it, tugging the handle from his hand but never turning away from him. Mathew stood a few steps away and from my peripheral vision appeared ready to step in and hold his brother back if things got much worse. Since Mathew nearly worshipped Daniel my oldest brother was unlikely to turn on him so it made a good deterrent.

"Look Daniel you need to relax." I tried not to sound condescending but he was too far gone to recognize that.

"Don't tell me what to do Molly." He shot back without giving me a chance to finish. "Just because you feel it is okay to run out on your family responsibilities do not begin to presume the rest of us feel that way." He said nearly spitting in my face. "Dad is in the hospital and mom is with him. I'm here taking care of the family. But you are off running around." And then he got right up into my face.

For just a moment I thought about taking up that challenge he was offering. I'm not a particularly big fan of testosterone when used for stupid purposes, which in a seventeen year old boy seems to be the only way it is used. The image of laying one of my aikido moves on Daniel to back him up and teach him that confrontation might not always be the best course floated delightfully in my mind. And while my hands clenched defensively, my mind held me back and I forced myself to relax.

"Daniel I have been at the hospital with mom for the last day or so." I said quietly, dare I say even meekly, and calmly. "They just got dad out of surgery about an hour ago and it looks like he is probably going to make it." I said erasing his worst fears in one fell swoop. He was a bit taken aback and even gave me a little space though it was probably not conscious.

"Once I knew mom would be okay to leave alone at the hospital I came home to tell you all it was going to be okay." I said. "I need to eat something, take a quick shower, change clothes and get back to the hospital so mom will feel comfortable coming home and not leaving dad alone."

Wow the calm and meek approach actually stunned him. Oh I guess this is the time to inform you that if I choose to in certain situations, like um now for example, I can give off a slight passive burst of magic that nudges people's emotions in the direction I try to take them. It is not mind control. That is strictly forbidden by the Laws of Magic and the very reason I am under the Doom right now. Instead it is more like the way advertisers use pretty girls to help sell things. Only of course I use magic. Now I just needed to close the sale with Daniel.

"We are going to have to stick together as a family if we are going to make it through this." I said turning the emotional knife back on him as I raised my hand and placed it gently on his shoulder for full effect. I could see Father Forthill nodding in approval at me and little Harry smiling. Even Mathew seemed a little less confident in the abject worship of his brother.

The boy who would be king suddenly shook off my subtle attack and looked around and found himself usurped by his older sister once more. He had nothing to directly accuse me of that would not make him look even worse so he just stepped back away from me and went for a different tack. I could see the defiance in his eyes saying the game between us was not over with just yet. Maybe the aikido would have been a better choice after all.

"You can go play nurse all you want but with dad not only down but in the hospital we are going to need money just to survive." Daniel said loudly for his whole audience to hear. "Looks like it's now up to me to step up and take care of things." He nodded at me and then turned around and marched back into the house with his head held high.

Mathew hesitated and looked at me and Father Forthill, not certain just what to do in this conflict of loyalty versus what he had observed. Thankfully Father Forthill settled this for him.

"Mathew please go tell your brother I am leaving and I need to speak with him before I do." He said and using this as the tie breaking vote he ran off eager to do this. That just left me and my priest.

I walked up to the steps and opened my arms and little Harry nearly leapt from the father and to me wrapping me tightly in a bear hug. I fought back tears as I realized how much I needed this, someone to shower me in unconditional love just the way I had been doing so for my mother. My own shakes would probably start soon so I needed to get Harry to bed and hopefully be alone in the shower before anyone noticed them.

"Thank you father…" I began but he raised his hand and cut me off before I could finish.

"It is my duty Molly so I require no thanks." He said. "I need to like you just go home and clean up. I should be back here by six in the morning or so to get the kids off to school and let you go relieve your mother." I had totally forgotten about school. I merely nodded at Father Forthill as the three of us stepped inside and closed the door. I can't begin to say how happy I was for the heat in the house. The heater on my car was not working right, of course, and convertibles are not known for their ability to act like greenhouses in the middle of winter.

"Be careful with Daniel." Father Forthill whispered. "He is not taking this crisis well and will undoubtedly say things he will later regret." He explained. "It will therefore be up to you to ensure he does not burn any bridges between eh two of you that cannot be repaired later." I merely nodded and decided to the extent possible I would limit my interactions with Daniel and try not to rile him up more. I even made a silent promise not to ask him to help Mathew with his algebra homework.

"I will have a talk with him before I go." He said.

"Thank you Father." I said above his earlier objections. "I am going to put Harry to bed and then try to get cleaned up and rest. If I am not awake when you get here please make sure I get up. For some reason my alarm clocks always seem to break."

"I will Molly." He promised and I turned to go. "You should know your family is in my prayers, especially you." He said as I trudged up the stairs. I figured the way my night was going he was going to say something about me needed to have faith but thankfully he didn't. I guess it was not necessary if you already have an archangel telling you this.

By the top of the steps little Harry's eyes were getting heavy so I brought him to his room and dressed him in his warm pajamas that still has the footie pieces; perfect for cold tile floors in winter. I filled his cup of water next to the bed and then tucked him tightly under the covers and kissed him on the head making sure to stay away from his nightlight which would probably burn out if I stared at it too long. Then I turned to leave.

"Molly?" Harry said sleepily.

"Yes rug rat?" That was my pet name for him.

"I made you a picture over on my table." He said. His table was actually and old school desk mom had picked up at a garage sale and that each of us kids had successively used. It still had my initials carved into one corner from a ballpoint pen and way too much time on my hands. It was also where mom had made Harry sit, just like all of us before him, and learn lessons even before he had begun school.

I picked up the picture and looked at it. It was a coloring book drawing from the story of Rumplestiltskin and had the little gnome weaving straw into gold while the girl who would become princess watched him. Harry had been almost Picasso-like in his choice of colors for the room, the straw, and the gnome, but the princess he had colored wearing clothes much like the uniforms all girls wore to our school. Most importantly the princess's hair had been colored white; undoubtedly to match my own. It was a touching sentiment from a sprout of a child.

"Thank you Harry." I said softly expecting only to hear him snore in response.

"You're welcome Molly." He said sleepily. "You will make it right. You are my hero."

I raced to the shower as my shakes began, stopping only long enough to proudly tack the picture onto the wall above me bed.

Over the next ten days things improved some and also fell into a regular pattern for my family. Dad was moved into recovery but they expected it might be three weeks before he was released from the hospital. Mom therefore would bundle the kids off to school and then go stay down at the hospital with dad for the day. I would come down and relieve her around three in the afternoon so she could get home and make dinner and ensure everyone's homework got done. Then when visiting hours ended at eight I was sent on my way after kissing my dad on the forehead as he slept.

From the hospital I'd do a quick run by Harry's place. My studies were put on hold but I'd still practice some of my basics of calling up magic and control so my skills did not atrophy. I even continued to try and open the three doors in my mind as Hisha had shown me but as I was not actually casting many spells I did not use any of my mana, merely allowed it to infuse and warm me.

Harry was out and about again on some sort of business. Part of me suspected he was still feeling guilty and was either avoiding me as a means of not thinking about my dad, or more likely he had immersed himself into something to take his mind off of it. Karrin told me he had been busy with Luccio on Warden business but a flash in her eye made me suspect there was a twinge of underlying jealousy there. And it's not like Karrin was incorrect here. It did not take a matchmaker to see that Anastasia Luccio, former leader of the Wardens for the past century and now sporting a twenty-something's body, was totally wrong for him.

Even though he had not asked me to do it I shifted my schedule to come by and check out his place before going to the hospital. This way I could make sure Mouse and Mister got out and had food and water in their bowls. Then I'd come back at night after my shift with dad and do the same all over again. Harry did not leave me any notes but I suspected he was stopping by now and then. Of course I could not tell for sure since he keeps his place so ridiculously clean for a single straight guy that it makes one wonder.

The first letter from our insurance company arrived at our home a week exactly after dad came out of surgery. Luckily I was home and got the mail rather than my mother or they might have had to put a second bed in the room for her as well so she could recover from her stroke after seeing it. Let's put it this way, the amount was enough for a full year of tuition at a local community college, to include books. And the less than good news was since the injuries were attributed to gunshots and was therefore only covered if my dad made a formal report to the police of being a victim the insurance company was not going to cover these costs.

To actually make a police statement would require my dad to tell them about a group of demons who live in thirty pieces of silver or simply to lie; so you might as well understand it was not going to happen. Karrin Murphy of the Special Investigations branch had handled the investigation because hospitals were required to inform the police for gunshot wounds. Thankfully that would close the investigation from the police involvement side, but the report would not provide the answer the insurance company needed to pay out a claim. Karrin's ethics about police work were equally as strong as my father's about all parts of life in general.

Thankfully I had the money, in diamonds, but that would not be a big problem for me. And since it was not due for another two weeks it more than gave me time to convert them to cash and make the payment while ensuring my mom was none the wiser. If nothing was ever heard she would assume the insurance company had paid the bills.

I tried to slip the bill into my backpack but of course it was one of those moments when Daniel just happened to be watching what I was doing. My initial exclamation of "What the &%^$" when I saw the amount probably had peaked his interest to see what I was looking at.

"What are you hiding?" He demanded driving me nuts with his bossy attitude toward me again. Someone was going to have to remind him who was the elder among us. My choices were I could say nothing and just try to ignore the situation but he'd probably only use that as an excuse to challenge me further so I held the letter out to him so he could see for himself.

"Don't worry about it Daniel…" I started to say that I would take care of it but I really did not want to have to explain how I was able to do that. He had enough trouble with Molly the Wizard that the idea of Molly the God-Killer probably would be more than he could deal with. While he annoyed me, as all brothers are wont to do, he was still my brother and I did not want to strain that relationship any further.

"No Molly." He said folding up the bill. "_You_ don't worry about it." He replied with a smug and superior smile. "I will take care of this." He said with a smile that put me on edge. But before I could challenge him on it he said he had to go to his new job, one he had been working at for a week now, and that I should get to the hospital and take over watch from mom. He grabbed his coat and left while pulling his cell phone out of his pocket to better ignore me. I thought to go after him and find out what he was talking about but he changed my mind quickly.

"Hey Jenny, this is Daniel." I heard him say. "How about giving me a ride in your new car? I'll pick up dinner and gas if you can drop me by work." Yeah, following him out was not happening. Well it was not like I did not have other means at my disposal to figure things out what with being a nosy sister and all with access to magic.

I headed upstairs to my room and found that Harry had left me another coloring book drawing colored in for me. It looks like he had chosen a picture from a different book this time. Instead of being a princess, this time he had colored me in as Snow White, though if I recall that referred to her skin and not her hair like he had depicted. It was also the picture where she takes a bite of the poisoned apple which is not the most flattering comparison but I was prepared to let him slide on that one. But once again at the bottom he had written 'For Molly, you are my hero. You will make it all better." Yep this was another one for the wall.

I hung around for ten minutes or so until I heard Jenny's car pull up and then drive off. By looking at the clock knowing I was a bit rushed for time if I was going to make it to Harry's before the hospital I went right into Daniel's room and to the closet where I knew he kept his hidden secrets.

Off to the side of his closet was an old footlocker dad had picked up for him when he was a boy scout and was in the phase of thinking he might join the Marine Corps when he graduated. While my brother is tough enough, after talking to a Marine who had just come back from boot camp was enough to change his mind. Daniel liked to sleep in whenever possible and basic training was not going to let him do that. So the locker was pushed off to the side to make room for his sports gear, which from the smell of it had not seen mom's washing machine in a week or two at least. What it is about teenage boys that allows them to stink on command I will never understand.

The footlocker now was where Daniel kept his stash of contraband. I know because after a certain age we all had such a place. Of course I had kept mine out in a secret panel in the tree house out back because I knew mom liked to snoop through my things and I could not remember her ever climbing up into the tree house.

I pulled the chest out and found Daniel had upgraded to adding a lock. Normally that would be a fairly decent deterrent against siblings and even delay parents in some cases but your average snooping sister with access to magic meant this was trivial at best. If you remember those old commercials of how a sniper shoots through a padlock but the lock does not open? Yeah well magic provides more versatility than a mere bullet.

I merely focused my will and gathered a little bit of power and pictured the lock opening in my mind before I called out 'Solvos' causing the lock to open in my hands. The locker was mostly empty, having a few love notes from Jenny, plus a teddy bear she had bought him that he dare not display yet dare not throw out. There were also half a dozen adult magazines that my mother would kill him for if she found them. I decided to save this little bit of information as a get out of jail free card for dealing with Daniel in the future. I also decided not to tell him that Ms. November on the cover was actually a White Court vampire by the looks of her because he really did not seem to like this type of information intruding in his 'normal' world.

In between these two stacks I found what I was looking for. There were three employment letters, two rejections from local machine shops, but an acceptance letter from Highpelt Steel Works. I scanned this letter quickly and found out Daniel was accepted as an apprentice Ferrier, whatever the hell that was, and had a start date of a week ago, which coincided nicely with the timeline of when he had said he started working. I tore off the return address label and was closing the lid when something fell to the bottom.

I opened it back up and saw a gold coin, in fact it looked to be a really old gold coin, like the ones pirates used to plunder. Where the hell it had come from I had no idea, but as I looked closer at the lid I saw Daniel had created a false face to the chest that had shifted slightly when I opened it or that had been cause by inadvertently by my spell of opening. I slid the false panel all the way open and saw almost two dozen such coins taped to the top. If they were real, which I was pretty sure they were, then he had thousands of dollars in gold, not even accounting for if they were collector's items. I did not know what an apprentice Ferrier made per week, but this seemed highly unlikely. It looks like Daniel and I need to have a talk later.

I put the other coin back and returned the footlocker to its original condition. I hoped Harry was home so I could ask him what a Ferrier was before I confronted my brother.

He was not home and there was no sign he had been since last night when I was here because the dog and cat foods were just as I had left them and their water bowls were empty. I took care of food and water first, letting Mister out to go prowl and then taking Mouse for a stroll around the block to reacquaint himself with the various lampposts and whatever messages other nearby dogs left behind.

That done I brought him back in, checked to see if Harry had read or added anything to my note, he had not, and then grabbed a can of coke from the fridge on my way out. I had almost made it to the door when the telephone began to ring.

"Hello?" I said. Okay Molly, whatever you do, do NOT say you are Harry Dresden! I repeated this mantra to myself for the past six months every time I answered the telephone at his place and it seemed to be working so far. But I knew from experience one slip could be serious trouble.

"Harry?" The familiar voice on the other side of the line asked. "This is Butters."

Butters was Harry's doctor friend. Well actually he was a thirty-something nearsighted and balding pathologist who did autopsies on some pretty scary things and loved to talk about them. When not at work he dressed up in a one-man band costume and loved to perform polka live for everyone's entertainment. Thankfully he sounded like he had gotten over his recent depression at losing the polka challenge for the fifth straight year or so at Chicago's Oktoberfest. Did I mention with all these qualities going for him Butters was still single? Yes, I do not understand that either.

"Butters this is Molly." I said stressing that final word to ensure if any rogue pagan goddesses were listening that I did not inadvertently lead them on. "Harry is not home right now. I'm not sure when he will be. Do you want me to leave him a message you called?"

"Ummm." He said and then paused. I mean he paused for a really long time so that if it were not for his breathing, sort of a wheezing sound, I might have thought we had been disconnected.

Finally he spoke up again. "By law I have to inform the CDC within twenty-four hours if I encounter a death I cannot explain." He told me. "I have a feeling this is related to something 'spooky' so I would prefer not to make this call if I do not have to."

I remembered that Harry told me Butters had once been locked up for psychological observation after doing an autopsy on some Red Court vampires when he reported the bodies were human-like but definitely not human. I could see why he would be reluctant to go down that particular path again. And of course he had helped Harry out countless times both professionally with investigations and medically with things like removing pesky bullets that somehow got lodged in his body so that meant there was an existing debt of friendship between the two of them.

Harry would move Heaven and Earth to help a friend, I know this from personal experience, so I sort of felt it was up to me to do what I could for the guy in Harry's absence. This did not mean I would get involved in another investigation or adventure. I would merely take a look at whatever had Butters spooked and render my professional wizardly opinion on the subject and hoped that closed the case.

"What time do you have to call CDC?" I asked.

"By the book I have to call at seven tomorrow morning." Butters replied. "They check the receipt records on weird cases like this and the feds love to run a city morgue through the wringer if we step outside of protocol." I could see why he wanted help.

"Tell you what Butters, if it can wait until nine o'clock tonight I will swing by and see if I can provide you any answers." I offered. "If I can't help then you lost nothing but time. Will that work for you?" Personally I had no desire to stare at a corpse but if it helped a friend, or at least the friend of a friend, then I would accept the burden of remembering not to eat anything tonight and do what Harry would have done if he were here.

"That would be great Molly." He said. "I have two other procedures that I have to finish up and type up the reports between now and then." His mood seemed slightly better. "I will leave your name with the desk officer and tell him you are my date bringing me a later dinner. It's illegal for civilians to be in here but the security folks understand spouses and girlfriends and such stopping by and turn a blind eye."

That though brought some rather disturbing images to mind; not the lease of which was the chance of someone thinking I was dating Butters. It was enough to make my stomach rebel but I swallowed it down. "Okay Butters that will work for me." God I should be an actress. "I will see you at about nine." He thanked me again and hung up and I headed for the door noting that with a little luck I'd still make it to the hospital on time.

Ha, this is one of those moments where fate actually worked for me and I did arrive in time to changeover with mom. In the past ten days her inner fire had come back slowly and she looked more and more like the woman I had respected, and feared, growing up. The strain of sorrow had added a few new lines to her face, but the dark circles under her eyes were gone, and she actually was reading a book aloud, correction the Bible, while she waited for me to show up. My dad appeared either at rest with his eyes closed or asleep.

"How is he doing mom?" I asked as I came in through the door. I was thankful my dad was off the respirator and other than an IV drip nothing else was hooked up to him. This meant I could sit closer rather than across the room like I had been forced to for the first few days.

"He was awake earlier taking to the doctor and asking when he could go home." She answered shaking her head in feigned exasperation but I could see she was happy to think of back in our house soon.

"What did the doctor say?"

"He said if your father continues to show this level of remarkable progress then maybe after this weekend." She could not completely hide the smile from her face. "But the doctor also said he had to relax as much as possible so I have been reading to your father so he could sleep peacefully. I expect you to ensure he does as well."

Leave it to my mom to literally stake out her territory and take over in any environment once she got past the initial fear. I do not care who they are, the average alpha male has nothing on Charity Carpenter.

"I will make sure after he has his dinner that he goes straight back to sleep." I promised to keep her concern pointed in any direction except toward me. Plus it is not like I promised too much. Dad's dinner consisted of jello since his internal organs had all been damaged and could not take the stress of eating anything heavier. The jello's purpose was only to keep his digestive system working while his body healed. All his real nutrients came through the IV tubes that were changed out every eight hours.

Mom gave me her perfunctory kiss on the cheek as she left, something I did not mind since it made her feel better, and headed home to deal with my siblings. At fifteen Mathew's leadership ability was severely challenged when everyone older than him was away from home and responsibility devolved to him. Father Forthill found a new reason nearly every day to stop by and wait for my mom to get home. Yesterday's excuse was to drop off a flier that my mom 'really needed to see.' I looked later and realized it was an announcement that Friday night bingo would still take place on the day after Thanksgiving. Yep, if that did not require a three hour wait for direct face-to-face communication with my mother I did not know what would.

It took no more than five minutes after my mother had left before my dad's eyes opened and he turned to find me sitting beside him. "Hello Princess." Dad said to me using a nickname that I had not heard in many years.

"Hiya Daddy." I said smiling back at him.

"I was just dreaming of that day when I took your training wheels off and taught you to ride your bike."

"I was thinking about that the other day too." While I found that weird it was also oddly comforting that a day so special to me was equally important to him.

"You really were not all that coordinated." He said with a laugh. I felt a bit surprised by this but I could see with the familiar twinkle in his eyes that he was merely teasing me.

"That seems funny coming from the man in the hospital bed." I said in response and he laughed even harder.

We chatted about nothing in particular for the next ten minutes or so. I preferred the light conversation because I certainly did not want to talk about medical bills or gold doubloons at that moment. So it was my father who surprised me by bringing up an awkward subject.

"How is your sword practice going?" He asked me out of the blue. He had seen me in my gi going to aikido class but I had never shown him my sword or talked about it at home or to anyone other than Karrin.

"Um…fine." I said awkwardly not wanting to say more than I had to.

"I saw it in the back of your car one day after work." He explained. "I figure if I do not ask you why you have it then you have no reason to lie right?" He smiled. I merely nodded my head.

"Why don't you bring it up to the room and you can show me what you have learned." He offered.

"Into the hospital?"

"Sure why not?" He replied. "We will close the door so no one notices and it can be our secret." I knew that when he said 'our secret' he merely meant until mom asked the appropriate question. At that point it would no longer be a secret of any kind since my dad would not lie.

I pondered the idea and came up with a dozen reasons why not to do as he requested, including jail and my mother getting angry, which of the two the second was the far worse. But he was not so easily swayed from his course. "You know…" He smiled. "I know a thing or two about handling a sword. I might be able to offer you some pointers." Yep that sold it. I was off and back to the room inside of ten minutes and dad was just finishing up his jello, lime was the offered flavor of the night, so I knew from the previous week we had an hour or so before the orderlies would return for the tray.

I wheeled his bed over slightly and pushed the chair back against the wall to give myself a little room and drew the wooden sword. Then I assumed the on guard pose that Karrin had taught me. Once he smiled and nodded for me to continue, in a series of slow and deliberate steps I showed him all the various moves I had been taught before gradually speeding them up to the pace Karrin and I sparred at.

My dad smiled and offered words of praise when I did something he liked and small 'suggestions' for improvement on other areas. The latter were usually phrased as part of learn from his mistakes presentation, such as I should hold the point of my blade just a little higher because it combat a fighter can use gravity to help bring it down in a hurry, but the same forces slows down a blade from rising into a needed parry.

I won't say I was quite as tired as I was normally when sparring with Murphy, but my muscles certainly acknowledged they had received a workout by the time my demonstration was done. Dad also looked tired from this and I felt a little guilty about keeping him awake when mom had specifically told me not to. He saw this and gave me that unconditional loving smile I had seen throughout my life.

"I'm going back to sleep Princess." He said with a yawn that was certainly not faked. "Why don't you call it an early night and go take some time for yourself." He said.

I started to protest but he raised a finger, a whole hand likely too much for the moment. "Molly I will sleep better if I know you are not sitting here hovering over me for every snore I make."

I chuckled. "Well you do make a lot of odd bodily noises when you sleep." I said.

"Blame the jello."

I laughed and gave him a kiss on the forehead and as a good and dutiful daughter, well on very rare moments I was at least, I did exactly what my father asked of me. On the way out I stopped at the cafeteria only long enough to pick up a sandwich for Butters and some granola for me to eat if I was still hungry after he showed me whatever it was down there at the morgue that had him so spooked.

Thankfully traffic was not too bad and parking never seemed to be a problem at the morgue. You will note I refused to make any reference to the old joke about people dying to get here. Even necromancers have decided that joke should rest in peace. See I can be witty about death when I want to be. God it's hard being a beautiful, perky wizard apprentice but I try!

I strolled up to the morgue. Yeah I know they call it the Forensic Institute just like janitors are custodial engineer and stewardess are flight attendants. I really do not think changing the name actually endears any of these subjects to any additional respect, but if you want to believe it yourself who am I to shatter your illusions?

Harry comes out here a lot. Thankfully I have only been here a few times, and even then I tried to stay in the car as often as possible. This time though there was only me so I lifted my chin, and took a few deep breaths of air that did not smell of death or formaldehyde and strolled up into the reception area. Yeah, the idea of calling it a reception area in a morgue never quite seemed the correct thing to me either.

Because it was after hours I had to ring the buzzer to get the guard's attention. I had my girlfriend story all prepared though I have to say it was not a role I was looking forward to. Ah the life of a wizard apprentice is never a simple one.

"May I help you?" A voice asked that was surprisingly feminine rather than the normal male voices of the guards I had heard before.

"Um I am here to see Butters." I said. Damn what a stupid time to suddenly realize that I could not recall his first name! So much for the whole girlfriend story I figured.

The door buzzed anyway and I pulled it open. I guess the guard figured the chance of two women coming to see Butters was even more remote than my inability to use his first name, whatever it was, so she gave me the benefit of the doubt.

In Greek mythology there are stories about a race of warrior women known as the amazons who were the equal to the greatest male warriors of the time. At first glance I had no doubt that security specialist, not rent-a-cop, Crystal Davidson was a direct descendent from that noble lineage.

She stood six foot six and weighed two hundred pounds of pure muscle yet still maintained a feminine figure to boot. Her dark mocha skin and shining eyes seemed enticing even as her size was intimidating. She also was looking at me rather skeptically.

"You are Butter's girlfriend?" She asked noting both my age and that I likely did not appear to be the type attracted to thirty-something, balding, polka players who moonlighted by performing autopsies.

Did I mention I occasionally have an evil streak? Yeah, it strikes me at the oddest times; like now for example. I began to project a feeling of reassurance as I answered her.

"Well I do not know if girlfriend is the correct term." I said. "I am just using him for sex because I had to know for myself if the old wives tales about polka players is true." Had it not been for the magic I'm certain this story would have failed right there before it ever began. Having that particular unique ability as a backstop though kept me in the ballpark even though the skepticism did not leave her face.

"Okay, I'm from East St. Louis originally so it's not like we had any polka music where I grew up, so how about you enlighten me on this wives tale, girl to girl?" She smiled but I could just sense a little bit of intrigue, because it was a story so absurd it had to be true.

"Oh yeah." I said excited. "Up here in Chicago all the girls know if you are looking for a hot experience you go for a polka player." I explained. "They get that ooompah beat going in time with things and all you see are pink lights and fireworks in your mind."

I had her. She was literally stunning with nothing to say until finally. "You are kidding me right?"

Some more magical feelings of trust with just a hint of lust and I continued. "I wish I were." I said. "But between you and me I came here tonight to break it off with him though."

"Why?" The fish asked with the hook in her mouth.

"His stamina." I said. "It's just too much for me. I end up exhausted the next day so I can barely think straight, much less walk."

I could tell she was in serious contemplation so I pushed a little further. "Hey, it may get a little emotional for him after I'm gone." I explained. "He might want someone to talk to. Are you seeing anyone? I would not want them to get jealous if he finds out you were talking to a polka guy."

Her mind was off on a tangent and she answered without thinking. "No I was dating a second stringer from the Chicago Bears up until the season began. The coach made him break up with me because he too was having trouble walking and was too exhausted after we would spend the night together."

"Huh." I said. "Sounds like you and Butters were made for each other." I smiled. "Can I bring him his lunch and get the tough part over with?" I asked politely trying hard not to smile.

"Sure honey, go ahead." She said reaching into her purse before touching up her lipstick.

I strode down the hall calling his name and Butters poked his head out of one of the examination rooms near the end of the corridor and waved me forward. The fact that I was over an hour early did not seem to faze him at all so he led me to examination room three. I know it was examination room three because that is what it said on the door.

Normally the table in the center would have a sheet covered lump a foot or more in height that anyone would be able to understand was a body even without closer examination. This time though the sheet was nearly flat, rising at most six inches above the table in some places and much less in others. Having been alerted by Butter's thoughts this was something 'spooky' I prepared myself for anything, or at least I thought I did.

He pulled back the sheet and I saw, well I really did not know what it was I saw at first. Then slowly my brain made sense of what my eyes were telling it was laying there in front of me.

It was a human body, or at least had been at some time in the past. Now it appeared to be a bag of human skin, still stretched out, and containing all the bones in the body. However, everything else, muscle, sinew, blood, all of it was gone. It literally was just skin and bones.

"What in the…" Enough Hail Marys from Father Forthill had taught me to refrain from finishing that sentence in some cases. I did so in this one but just barely. The oddest thing I noted is that the skin of the victim showed no signs of damage whatsoever. I mean I figured it was possible to remove the skin from an animal or a person and then the bones put them back inside, but I figured you would have to see signs of the cutting and stitching. There was none of that in this case.

What I was seeing was also not anything I had ever heard of in my lessons with Harry. My mind went right to vampire, but none of the three courts I knew of sucked everything out of a body. This was something entirely different. I reached out a finger and touched the skin, feeling at once that it had the consistency of old leather.

"Can you tell me anything about this?" Butters asked hopefully.

"I do not know what exactly did it." I said. "But you are right. It certainly was something spooky." I agreed.

I sat and looked at the body for a while longer trying to come up with anything but my knowledge base was relatively light in the whole 'it eats the out the inside of humans without leaving a mark on the skin; category. "Have you found anything odd?" I asked getting a raised eyebrow for my efforts. "Okay odder?"

"I have not begun the actual autopsy." He admitted. "I wanted Harry to see the body before I did any damage. I do not even have an identity on the victim. I'm going to have to inflate the fingers with a silicone gel just to get them back into shape to take prints. Between that and dental records I hope to know who this was and then maybe how this happened."

"Okay, since I got here early I'm going to run back by Harry's place and see if I can find anything in his books on this." I said.

"Okay, since you say it's spooky I'm not calling CDC." He seemed relieved by this. "But I need to know anything you get as soon as possible in case I get questions."

"Not a problem." I replied. "Should I call you here?"

"Yeah, it's not like I have a hot date or anything." He said still looking at the body.

"Actually Butters, I think you should know that your security guard Crystal likes you." I said over my shoulder as I headed out the door leaving him a bit baffled and confused in my wake.


	4. Chapter 4

**Semper Fidelis**

_**Chapter 4**_

I drove home with a mixture of smiles and dread upon my face. The image of Crystal finding out if Butters lived up to the reputation of all great polka players was certainly enough of a karma balancing payback in my book for the humor Butters got in describing me as his girlfriend. The fact that she was undoubtedly a take charge kind of girl and not one to likely take no for an answer could certainly do Butters a world of good. I figured as long as she did not put the little guy in the hospital the scales were now pretty well balanced between us. Hell it was also funny enough that I might even tell Harry about it and chance getting a lecture.

On the other hand the desiccated corpse I had observed was disturbing to me to say the least. There was obviously something relatively nasty that had made its way to Chicago. It was cruel for me to rationalize but hopefully the city was just a stopover point as whatever had committed this murder continued its journey to Los Angeles or New York. That would make the victim just the unfortunate human quick snack equivalent of a Big Mac, and what I saw of the remains merely a biodegradable wrapper disgarded as litter on the side of the road.

Of course we would only know for certain that my theory was false when a second such corpse was found. That would mean the diner had found the local cuisine to its liking and decided to indulge a little more. At that point I hoped Harry would be back and my job would be merely to plot where the attacks had taken place in the city.

I actually had a remote hope that Harry was back when I stopped at his place and I could turn this case over to him, therefore telling demonstrating firmly to any being that may be watching that I had no desire for another Harry-type adventure. I realized I had not take proper advantage of my cheerleading days so if Harry were home I would gratefully sit back and provide whatever assistance I could from the sidelines in a moral supporting role.

But hey, there was no need to rent trouble just yet. Odds were a single death was all we would see and if Harry's books could offer a reasonable explanation for the creature that commit the act, the case could be closed and Butters could focus upon Crystal and not things that looked upon grown humans as some sort of Happy Meal.

The little nagging voice inside of me that sounded a lot like Harry's reminded me that Uriel had told me not long ago that I had to have faith things would work themselves out as required. Most importantly I was not to let my worries distract me from what I would have to do, something important enough for an archangel to deliver this bit of advice personally. In my book this roughly translated to him telling me to build an ark because a serious storm was headed my way.

Because dad had set me away I made it to Harry's place at about the same time I had expected to get to the morgue so I figured this put me ahead of my schedule for the night and provided me an extra hour for research. At nineteen I did not have a curfew to be home by, but I knew my mother slept better knowing I was under her roof while dad was in the hospital so I tried to get in by midnight to ease her worries.

I parked my car across the street from his apartment and slipped through the wards by temporarily disarming them long enough to enter. As easy as that sound the process takes nearly a minute and most of that is committed to pushing the big warped steel door open just enough from me to get through and then back into its frame. The wards themselves take almost no time to set back up. Harry has two types of these that guard his place and the surrounding area. The first are those right upon the home itself that immobilizes or can even kill those trying to enter without first turning them off, like I had learned to do, or possessing a charm to bypass them like Murphy had been given.

He also had a set of wards strung further out, sort of like an invisible spider web, about two blocks in all directions anchored to various spots like lampposts and chimneys. These wards were primarily ones of magical detection whose purpose was to let Harry know if anyone of power, or anything from the Nevernever was in proximity to his home. Unfortunately these did not detect everything of danger. Vampires, for example, were for the most part not creature of magic and on more than one occasion had nearly ambushed Harry on his very doorstep because he had not sensed them.

He had also explained to me that a rather disagreeable necromancer had sent zombies one at a time to knock down his wards by sacrificing themselves. When the protections had run out they were the ones responsible for bending Harry's steel door. I figured that was a good lesson that wards were not infallible protection.

After I came onboard as his apprentice, Harry modified these protections a little bit so that if they were tripped a series of candles and bells he had enchanted would burst into flame and rings as a warning to me trouble was nearby. Green colored candles meant something had tripped the alarms wards out at the two square block limit line. Yellow candles meant whatever it was had crossed the one block limit. Red then meant something was within a hundred feet of the apartment.

In all the time I had stayed at Harry's place I had never observed a red or yellow candle event and it was not on my to do list either. I had only experienced two green candle events and both of those Harry later determined through his spells had just been something travelling nearby and had set off the alarms, not a creature with an unhealthy interest in his home. After these two events left me a bit on edge and afraid to leave the apartment for nearly a day he further modified the spells out in the green ward area to turn themselves off after an hour of no longer sensing the intruder's presence.

Now that I have explained this all, it was of course a green ward I noticed that was burning when I entered Harry's apartment. Thankfully I took this as merely a noted warning of caution, but not one that required any immediate attention on my part since I was now inside and the wards were once more active.

While whatever it was could right now be preparing an attack on the apartment, I was pretty sure I would have noticed an army of bloodthirsty zombies forming up ranks in the street if a repeat performance was about to begin. I told myself it was likely the candle would extinguish itself in the next sixty minutes or so as it had both times in the past. But just in case I decided I would take all three candles in their modified carrying menorah down into the lab with me when I started my research.

But first I needed to get something to eat. I loved the fact that Harry kept his apartment well stocked for food, though I have to admit sometimes I wondered just how he did his shopping. I mean one time the house was filled with only Fruit Loops and Hostess Cupcakes. I literally had to ask Harry if he was diabetic based on his diet. He gave me a look that said he was not, but that he refused to explain any further. Have I mentioned he is rather odd, even for a wizard?

Since that discussion there is usually a wider variety of foods available, though the freezer always contains at least half a dozen frozen pizzas. Harry had told me to eat these as often as I wanted to and make sure to leave the remains out for Mouse and Mister to finish after I went to sleep. I had never seen either of his pets actually eat the pizza leftovers, but there was never any left the next morning when I got up.

Right now I did not want pizza though. I wanted something relatively quick and easy so I opted for sandwiches. Unfortunately cold cuts are one area that Harry's cupboards seemed to be missing. I really craved bologna right now, something about all those sandwiches as a kid at school made them a psychologically comforting food when I had bigger things on my mind; bigger things such as desiccated corpses for example. The desire was so strong in fact that I thought about driving to the store but this late it would be a round trip of over an hour and I wanted to get this research issue cleared up and off my plate as quickly as possible. Plus of course there was the deterrent value of the burning green candle. This meant I had to fall back to the old reliable standby of peanut butter and jelly instead. I whipped up three of these and headed for the lab to get to work.

Harry's subbasement workshop is frigging freezing. I mean it is normally cold in Chicago except perhaps in the very heart of summer, but even then the lab never got more than remotely comfortable in temperature. Here during the winter months the climate difference between down in the workshop and outside was only in the fact that there was no wind blowing down here. I swear if it were possible I would come down here one day and there would be fresh snow on the floor. I might have to bring Al Gore here sometime to get in on that whole global warming thing just to keep from getting frostbite.

I started by lighting the various candles spaced about the room to provide me light and a modicum of heat. I could lie and say I was magically cool and started them all through a quick spell like Harry often does, but the truth of the matter is that since I had one candle already lit in my hand it was much easier just to walk the circuit of the basement and set each wick to the torch manually. It also kept me warm moving around as the little fires began desperately to bring heat to the icebox Harry calls home. It was so cold, I was even surprised his stores of magical components did not all freeze in their various bottles and jars and become useless.

This gave me the idea that since I was going to be down here for a while anyway looking through Harry's books I might as well brew a potion for practice and kill two birds with one stone. And based upon the current temperature both down here and outside, a potion of warmth seemed just the ticket. I collected the various ingredients, the base liquid flask of apple cider being nearly icy sludge, and set the mixture to boil nicely.

Since I would have an hour or so to let that simmer, and infuse the room with the cinnamon spice I used for smell, I turned back to the library books on the shelves and noted by this time the green warding candle was no longer burning. With an audible sigh of relief at this one less concern I pulled off the first and most likely book to start my research, _The Creature Catalogue_ from the game Arcanos.

Like I said before, Harry had shown me in my training that almost all of the creatures in the book were either based upon actual residents of the Nevernever, or were really scary modified versions of creatures here on Earth, like the giant scorpions Harry had told me about battling once. I decided to focus my search on just the Nevernever denizens as I suspected if a six-foot giant cockroach or some such thing would were responsible for the killing it likely would have made the news or at least this week's copy of _The Arcane_.

That research book, however, and even its follow on volume, _The Tome of Terrors,_ wielded no new clues to what had killed the victim I had observed. This was also barring the major demonic powers that existed beyond the Outer Gates who were likely capable of such feats of unique death. I certainly hoped that such a being was not once again walking freely around Chicago. Tricking two such denizens would not be a simple task, even for a talented and perky wizard apprentice.

I put the book away knowing by my internal clock my hour of research had passed along with a little bit more to boot. The potion was also completed and I poured it into one of Harry's sports bottles to cool before slipping it into the backpack I still carried rather than a purse. It was at this point I turned back to the library and noticed that not only was the green candle burning once more, but so too were the yellow and red.

"Oh shit!" I said in a whisper. That meant whatever had approached was basically right outside the apartment. Thankfully the wards should be able to stop or at the very least slow down this attacker and give him or her something else to think about if he or she sensed them. Perhaps that would be enough time for me to come up with a plan of what I should do if they don't deter whoever was out there.

Then, the small tinkling bell Harry had placed on his door so that even down here in the subbasement he could tell when anyone entered the apartment went off informing me whatever had come by for a visit, now had made it past the wards as well.

"Okay Molly, now might be a really good time to come up with that contingency plan." I thought to myself. But of course inspiration was lacking to me at this moment. Instead I was focused upon the really bad news. Whatever had entered the apartment had done so with enough power to shrug off the spells Harry had created to keep things like it out. That meant even if this being was wounded by the wards, it was still likely more powerful than I was. Except of course, I suddenly realized, it had also forced itself over the threshold as well.

Harry explained to me once that the old phrase 'A man's home is his castle' actually originated from average people's dealing with wizards in times long past. Crossing thresholds uninvited stripped even the mightiest of wizards of much of their power if the practitioner forced their way inside the house rather than being invited. This had to do with the amount of emotion and love that went into a home during the years that an individual or family lived within its walls. Since Jesus had declared that Love was the greatest of all powers, it did not seem all that farfetched to me that the walls of a home might absorb some of that residual power shared between families over time. So through this process the home of even a common man eventually created a castle-like barrier against those who wielded magical power.

I ran my possible options through my head, and the first and foremost one to appear was what Harry always told should be my best choice; run away. He even found the nerve to constantly remind me in a high pitched and squeaky voice claiming he was quoting a famous Monty Python scene. Of course under these conditions I found myself in, all my master's wisdom, or for that matter John Cleese's, I realized very little discussion had been given to what to do if fleeing were not an option.

"Okay Molly back to the basics and play to your strengths." I thought silently to myself as I willed together magic. Having practiced now for months I noted my heart was racing and was therefore making my ability to properly gather power less effective than it should be. I pushed aside this panic by using the first store of magic I gathered to cast a spell of emotional courage upon myself.

The Fourth Law of Magic forbids me from casting my spells to dominate the minds of others; a skill which of course just happens to be in the area of my greatest gifts. The law though did not forbid me from casting such a spell upon myself. I had tested this theory in combat and perfected it over the past six months to serve as a survival technique.

Through the months of practice I found there were a few such spells I could cast that actually helped me increase my power in this way. In the current case my dousing myself with a healthy dose of courage my heartbeat slowed closer to normal and I could gather magic and think clearly without worries of panic eating away at my every thought. I had a similar spell for concentration to help me focus my mind upon whatever task Harry had set for me. Both of course only worked for a limited duration, ten to thirty minutes or so, based upon how much power I put into it.

Except for training, I rarely employed these types of enchantments; mainly because Harry had explained magic can be a crutch if used improperly and I wanted to build up my actual magical strength not just temporarily simulate the increase through this effect. But I did keep them ready for use when necessary, sort of my own version of Popeye's spinach, such as when something has broken through Harry's wards probably looking for a meal and I was potentially on the menu!

Okay, now feeling the calming effect of the spell I began again to draw up more magic, using the next pool of power to call up a veil to cover me from sight. I was confident in my skills in this area would provide me significant defense. Of course what I needed was a reliable offense as well.

Magic is great, but there are a good number of other options for combat if a wizard is smart enough to look for them, or like me has few other options. I looked around the room and finally decided to pour a handful of salt and pepper into my left hand, this being the same hand I wore my shield bracelet on so it left my right free for combat spells. Hearing movement upstairs I decided it was time to go find out who or what had broken in.

Mister had not returned when I had unlocked the door earlier tonight so it could not be him and I suddenly realized that Mouse had given no warnings or response to the intruder either. That was incredibly strange since the dog was frighteningly intelligent where magic beings were concerned, a fact I could attest to myself. But even for all his courage and intelligence, he was only a dog and likely could be taken down as easily as anyone or anything else if the enemy had prepared for a contingency for him. Seeing as how the intruder had gotten past the wards so knew of their existence, I could only assume they likely knew about Mouse as well.

I climbed slowly up the stairs, and after having both Murphy and Harry catch and kick my backsides for catching me under a veil I made sure I took a very slow and meticulous pace avoiding the creaky stairs that led up from the subbasement. You will have to remind me to tell Harry to correct this situation in the near future. Luckily I had trod upon them enough times to know which steps were the bad ones. And for safety sake I kept my feet out at the very outside edges of those step I did use just in case I had forgotten.

I had only left two candles burning upstairs because I had not been planning on staying there so saw no reason to waste them. Of course had I known unexpected company was coming I would have probably lit a few more to give me a better view.

The first thing I noticed, because I was purposely looking for it, was that there was no sign of Mouse and worse still no signs of a struggle. That was worse news I realized because if the intruder or intruders, I hoped it was only one, knew about Mouse and had prepared for him, I was pretty certain whoever it was knew about me as well. And having my convertible Mustang parked across the street probably was enough of a giveaway to tell the intruder I was presently in residence. Okay then, all this scene needs is the cry of that odd jungle bird that always screams in the movies when the hero and villain are trying to get a drop on each other.

At the top of the stairs I again heard movement this time coming from the kitchen area. It sounded like metal links banging into something hard, most likely the kitchen countertop. As far as combat spells go I am fairly limited in my options so I readied myself for whatever possibilities I had as the intruder finally made an appearance.

I knew at once it was not Harry. The person was too small compared to him. I also knew it was not Carlos, the West Coast Warden and only other wizard that Harry had entrusted with how to work his wards to. The stranger was the right height, but was shaped definitely female. Last I could tell immediately it was not Murphy, the only person Harry had given a charm to in order to bypass his wards. Of course none of that trio, Harry, Carlos, nor Murphy, would have set off the ward candles with their arrival anyway.

The figure was dressed head to toe in dark clothing as if planning on not being seen at night, but most telling was the scarlet cloak she wore about her shoulders. Other than on Halloween when normal people dress up as vampires and witches, or the very small select part of society with yearly box seats at the opera, by in large the general population in the 21st century no longer wore cloaks when stepping out. Wizards, however, and of course some rather bad non-normal things still did. Oddly it seemed to me to be some sort of an informal attire of membership like a school logo or a Masonic ring.

That established, the color of the cloak was often telling as to what alliances the wearer followed. The Wardens, for example, wore only grey cloaks and those were made of a magical material that did not allow blood or other liquids to stain their appearance. Alternatively, lots of the bad guys Harry had fought went with either the black or grey cloaks because they were just generally more intimidating if being somewhat stereotypical in Hollywood. Just once I thought it would be interesting to see the bad guy decked out in a sunny yellow or bright orange.

The same rules generally applied to the non-human aspects of our 'spooky' fraternity. The black court of vampires did go for the standard black cloaks. The White Court members, like Thomas, rarely if ever wore cloaks since they were much more creatures of current fashion. When they did wear cloaks though, such as at formal events, they went with white colored ones for their court allegiance. So following pattern, yet not a rule, that meant the crimson cloak wearing woman before me was most likely a Red Court vampire, the ones who had been at war with the White Council for years. And according to Harry they would have no compunction against killing off a perky wizard apprentice if they got their chance to do so.

If there were any creatures Harry required me to learn everything about in our Arcanos games it was the Red and Black court vampires. The first thing I knew was from a purely magical standpoint I was way outclassed. I also did not have a reliable weapon for killing vampires readily at my disposal like my dad would when he did battle with such things. While there were two quite serviceable holy swords just a few steps away, I knew I was not permitted to wield either just yet. My own wooden practice one I had I of course left in the backseat of my car so it's not like it was going to help me serving as a makeshift stake in the heart or anything. So in the weapon department my resources were about as scarce as in the magic area.

What I did have at my disposal though was faith, something Uriel had told me I would require for this very moment it seemed, and of course the cross that my mother had given me just six months ago I wore around my neck. This combination would be enough to destroy a relatively weak vampire and at least protect me while driving a stronger vampire out of the apartment. Since this one was obviously looking for something in Harry's apartment, something beyond Mouse's leash chain she held in her hands, or preparing an ambush for my master I figured getting her outside before she found it would be a victory for the good guys. How I was likely to do that though might require some creative finesse.

From my lessons I realized the fact that she was carrying Mouse's leash might explain why he had not made an appearance to defeat this intruder himself. It was entirely possible that she was using the leash as a spell component, much like a voodoo doll, to symbolize holding the dog at bay with magic the very way one might try to do so with the chain. If so I then reasoned if I could get the chain away from her it was likely that the spell she had cast upon Mouse would be broken and the big dog would be able to make an appearance to help me wrap things up. Yeah that was counting on a lot of separate things to break in my favor.

I positioned myself roughly along the path the woman's course took toward me, cursing the fact that the candles I had left lit were to the sides and behind her as she approached making my next required move to be totally based on guesswork. When she was only two steps from me I raised my left hand, the one with the salt and pepper in it and tossed it into her face, or at least where I expected the face of the vampire to be. It must have sensed the movement of the air currents between us as my hand shot up for she froze in place instead of taking the next step as I expected, but she still likely got a face full of the mixed spices.

I dropped my veil and took a step back from her, not only out of arm's reach, but out of spitting distance too since the Red Court's seductive saliva was their most dangerous weapon. This was a lesson my character had learned the hard way in a game of Arcanos. Only this time I would not have Billy the Barbarian coming to my rescue if I got splattered by it.

I pulled the cross out from under my shirt and willed my magic into it. "Illuminate!" I commanded and the cross burst into a sparkling holy light of pure bluish white. I had become a bit more adept at using this for a focus just like my bracelet worked for my shields and now when I cast this spell, my cross even became something akin to a flashlight allowing me to projects a cross-like beam of light out to ten feet or so. I kept this beam of light aimed right on the head and chest of the vampire.

Yeah well that plan did not work as well as I had hoped. With a quick step and a flick of her wrist the creature sent the dog's leash end spiraling toward my outraised left hand as I tried to quickly call forth a shield. The clip on the end touched my palm as I was willing the magic together and the magical electricity stored in the chain flowed into my body and launched me six feet backwards across the room and into the fireplace, which thankfully I had not chosen to light. I almost fell completely down when I landed but my hand caught on the mantle and I kept myself on my feet as the vampire approached.

"Where is Harry Dresden?" The voice rasped at me spinning the chain and preparing to obviously launch another bold of magical lightning into me. I knew I would not stand through a second such jolt and if I lost my feet and my ability to run I was doomed. Unfortunately as I pulled myself up I realized instantly I really did not have any means at my disposal to prevent such a thing from happening since my shield hand was out of position on the mantle and my opponent would not likely allow me to get it between us and take the necessary second or two to call up a shield without attacking again.

That was also assuming I could call up magic at the moment which I doubted. That shock had me frazzled and not able to fully concentrate. It also provided me one hell of a good reason to reconsider my various piercings which were all currently uncomfortably warm in even more uncomfortable places. Note to self that wizards and current fashion did not mix well. Can I say "Ow!"

But realizing where I happened to be standing did bring some resolve back to me, in part thanks to my courage spell. "Probably out killing your Red Court king." I snarled grabbing up _Fidelacchius_ from the mantle and swinging it between us. I did not draw the blade from its wooden sheath. I was not allowed to wield the blade yet. But that did not mean I could not use it as an effective club; a club that also just happened to be non-conductive.

The vampire's arm with the chain flickered up toward me reflexively as I made my move and wrapped neatly around the wooded handle just as I leapt off the ground. The magical lightning, unable to go where directed by the laws of conductivity, now blew back instead along the links of the leash and into the caster of the spell, sending her flying instead and more importantly getting her to release the chain. I let it slide off the scabbard and immediately when my feet hit the ground pursued the vampire who had fell back toward the couch behind her.

I had only half suspected my plan would work but that was a bit more than my opponent it seemed. The vampire appeared stunned by its own power, and I was not about to give it a chance to recover and discuss the subject a second time. The sword felt both comfortable and familiar in my hand, even with the added weight of the scabbard it was so light to be almost unnoticeable. That was probably thanks to the adrenaline pumping through my body.

The very moves I had shown my father a few hours ago and been given polite improvements on I now put to good use slipping past sluggish defenses of upraised arms to strike the side of the head of my opponent. And when she covered her head for protection I changed targets, taking out knees and causing her to collapse to the ground.

"You picked the wrong house to break into you blood sucking bitch!" I called out triumphantly as she collapsed beneath a rain of blows and seemed unable to even raise her arms any more in defense. I lifted the cross once more with the intent to lay it on her and kill her with its touch when her ally made his appearance known to me by bowling me over and knocking the sword from my hands.

"Mouse get off of me!" I screamed but the dog merely continued to lay across me and keep me pinned to the ground as the vampire groggily began to get to her feet. I suddenly wondered if vampire saliva could make a thrall out of animals as well. Damn it all! I beat her! Losing now was totally unfair. And besides I'd make a sucky vampire; pun intended.

The woman made it to her knees and turned to look at me. "I will only ask you one more time child." She said lifting her hands to her hood. "Where is Harry Dresden?" She inquired and pulled the hood back from her face; a face I now recognized as having seen when she was unconscious and being rescued by Harry less than a year ago.

"Elaine?" I asked seeing my knowledge of her name register recognition in her eyes.

"Then you must be Molly." She said in response, relaxing ever so slightly. Yeah she would not have recognized me since she had been unconscious and bleeding over me at our only encounter. Wow this was probably not the best introduction I had ever made to one of Harry's oldest friends. My only bonus lay in the fact that nothing I had done just now came close to violating any of the Laws of Magic.

"Yep that would be me." I said smiling weakly as Mouse kept me pinned down on the floor. "Sorry about the whole attacking you thing." I said somewhat sheepishly. Yeah this is not going to be a story I am going to enjoy explaining to Harry. Even less though will I enjoy him hearing it from Elaine.

"And the blood sucking bitch comment?' She said with her eyes closed and pressing delicately on a rather nasty bump growing on the right side of her temple. Yeah that had been a particularly satisfying blow at the time when I had struck it I recalled.

"Yeah sorry about that too." I agreed. "Course it seemed an appropriate moniker for a Red Court vampire."

She looked at me again, her eyes a little glassy and red from tears but trying to focus. "Red Court." She said slowly. "I understand." She sat on the couch looking at me trapped under a two-hundred pound dog. Her eyes were now watering I could see and she sneezed as well telling me my shot with the pepper had worked effectively too. Just my luck all my plans work when I really do not need them to.

"Oh…yeah…sorry about the salt and pepper thing to…" I said with a shrug that was masked by the dog's body anyway.

"Extremely creative." She said between sneezes then got control again. "Now where is Harry? Please tell me he did not leave already without me." She asked.

Mouse by this point figured out the battle between us was over so he got up and headed over to his bowl to chew on some kibble while I just sat on the floor in a lotus position. Yeah acting a bit submissive was probably a smart thing to do in my current situation.

"Harry's been gone for nearly a week." I said. "I think he is on Warden business if that is what you are also talking about." I hate when those around me play this I got a secret thing and leave out details that I need to know what is actually going on.

"A week?" She asked surprised. "No then he does not know." She stopped and looked at me. "Was there a visitor here tonight? Did anyone leave a message or package for Harry?"

I looked at her confused. "No one came while I have been home and there was no package at the door or message on his answering machine." I said.

"When I said visitor I was not speaking of anything human." Elaine explained. "And it would not be something to use a telephone either I suspect." She finished.

"What are you talking about?" I asked.

"One of Mab's emissaries." Elaine replied. "It would have been a creature of the Winter Court. It had orders to come here to gather a trusted human agent just as a creature of Summer came to get me. He and I are needed if we are to stop a war between the faire courts."

Harry had explained the two faire courts to me in great detail and how over the past few years their rivalry and relative truce that had lasted centuries had nearly broken into outright war on at least two occasions. He explained as well that if this were to happen when Winter's power were on the climb up until Winter solstice in less than a month, Mab's forces would likely win the day. And here on Earth that would likely mean the start of a new ice age. Try and blame SUVs for _THAT_ Al Gore!

"Wouldn't Mab be able to send it to wherever Harry was at?" I asked. "She's an all-powerful faire queen and all."

"Perhaps." Elaine considered. "Except my Summer Court emissary told me to come here. I can't think that Winter would know an agent's location and Summer would not. I suspect then that Harry is hidden from their view wherever he is and they hoped he was here."

She sat considering things for a few seconds and seemed to grow more anxious. "You have no means to get in touch with him?" She asked me with a look of desperate hope.

"I can contact the Wardens and they can likely get a message to him over time." I said.

"No!" Elaine said a little too forcefully that hinted she wanted nothing to do with the magical enforcers of the White Council. This was a feeling I readily shared being under the Doom and all. "That would likely take too long anyway." She reasoned.

"So what are you going to do?" I asked.

"I don't know." She replied. "I cannot go alone. Even with my token from Summer, Mab would never accept me as an impartial agent in these affairs to broker a peace between the two faire courts. That is why I need Harry. He is someone whose judgment she trusts."

"What about me?" I blurted out and then felt my eyes go wide. Why the heck had I said that? The absolute last thing I wanted was to get involved in a war between faire courts. Then I realized. That stupid courage spell had affected my common sense!

Elaine looked at me and shook her head. "You are not the one Mab's has chosen." She said making me smile in relief as she let me off the hook. Now if I could just keep my mouth shut long enough for Elaine to leave and go look for Harry I would be okay.

Then I saw her eyes pause in consideration. "On the other hand you are Harry's chosen apprentice. In this you represent not only his judgment as his chose successor but are in much the same way an extension of him, just as Lady Winter Maeve is an extension of Mab herself." She paused. "Yes I think that might indeed work." She smiled.

"But I'm not powerful like Harry or you are." I reasoned hoping to change this course before me. "Mab would certainly want someone of power and not just an apprentice."

"The mission is not one of power but one of reason." Elaine explained. "And I think I have a firsthand demonstration that your ability to think on your feet is certainly as good as or even better than mine." She complimented me and my heart rose up in my throat.

"Of course there still is one problem." She said making my eyes light up hopefully that I was off the hook.

"Which is?"

"The Winter Token." She explained. "Mab sent her token to Harry to demonstrate to all forces loyal to Winter that he was her agent and anyone who crossed paths with him or his companions would answer to her." She pulled a butterfly broach from her cloak. "I have the similar charm from Summer so as long as he and I worked together we would be protected from the creatures of either court while in Nevernever. And those not aligned usually have no desire to upset one of the Queens much less both so we should be safe." Yes that would be pretty effective I figured.

"But I do not have the token." I said with relief. "And the Winter emissary has not brought it here so I guess that rules this plan out." I explained.

"That is odd." She said. "The creature should have reached here by now. Something must have happened that was unforeseen by either of the Queens." Her eyes took on that distant look again.

I thought on that and then thought back once more to the candle wards. They were designed to detect things very much like Winter's emissary. What if they had detected that creature and not Elaine as I first suspected. That actually made a whole lot more sense. Against my better judgment, but completely because Uriel had told me I was going to face some sort of important challenge soon, I explained this possibility of the wards to Elaine.

"Grab your coat and we can determine if you are right with a quick search." She said standing up, a bit wobbly from my thrashing I noted, and headed for the door. I came after her slipping my parka on as well as I went and hoping I was wrong.

Since the red candle had gone off I knew the creature it detected had been close, within a hundred feet or so of the apartment, so Elaine started by crossing the street and with me racing and slipping to catch up. She stopped near my car as it was the most obvious object to block sight of things on the street. A part of my mind also noticed it was snowing lightly again, perhaps a symbol of the potential for Winter's victory if war came to the faire courts. And there in the fresh snow Elaine pointed to the first bit of evidence that told us we were on the right track.

It was a footprint, sort of human looking except for the odd size. If we lived in Oregon someone would say Bigfoot had come to call, but knowing we were talking about one of Winter's emissaries, ones I had seen before when Harry had come to rescue me from the heart of Winter's power, I knew the real name for the maker of this print. "Yeti." I said aloud and Elaine nodded her head following the tracks with her eyes toward my car. There she pointed to a small lump nearly hidden in its shadows.

We walked toward it and saw it was a nine foot patch of yeti fur lying carefully on the ground like it had been spread out like a blanket. It was also slowly turning into ectoplasm slime like all such creatures from Nevernever did here on Earth within an hour of when they died. The problem with this one though was that I could also tell what had killed the beast because enough was left of the yeti to show me all that remained now was merely a bag of skin and bones. Whatever had killed Butters's victim had also just killed and eaten a full grown yeti as well.

"Well that's not good…" I said aloud.


	5. Chapter 5

**Semper Fidelis**

**_Chapter 5_**

I sat there staring at the corpse lying in front of me that was now even more rapidly becoming a mucus-like goo in the snow. It would evaporate completely soon, even in the cold of the Chicago winter night air, for that is the foundation of ectoplasm in our world. But as I watched it dissolve my mind was on other issues.

Something had killed the yeti, and it had done so right here almost on Harry's very doorstep. That meant now the killer's hunting area included this neighborhood, either that or it had felt the arrival of the yeti in this world, tracked it down, and then killed it incredibly rapidly. If the first situation was true, that created a direct threat to Harry and me who are more or less part-time residents of the neighborhood based upon the demands of our lives. But that also meant the full-time residents would be in even greater danger since they were here more often and likely had little defense against anything capable of killing a yeti as savagely and efficiently as this.

On the other hand if the mysterious killer had hunted down and murdered and the messenger that meant whatever it was it had the ability to detect magic or spells use at some level which once more did not bode well for Harry or I. Oh and when I am standing there in the snow looking at a dead yeti corpse and when I say Harry and I, I am really am talking mostly about me. Unfortunately even understanding this there was not a lot I could do about this based on all I knew.

It was not like I could run and hide though. I was trapped facing this situation not only because Uriel himself had more or less hinted that I was soon to be involved in rather important events; which in my life is becoming all too commonplace, but also because these deaths seemed to be a pretty strong introduction to something really bad happening here in Chicago.

The archangel's words that I was to have faith reminded me of my discussions with Father Forthill. One of my biggest takeaways had been the numerous times the old priest reminding me that God did not provide us with challenges we were unable to surmount if we had faith in ourselves and him to see us through these events. Of course it is one thing to read that in scripture or have your religious leader say it to you, but when faced with something that seems overwhelming, like a dead yeti corpse at your doorstep, it was still hard to accept without reservation.

The on the other hand I also had Elaine's plea that time was of the absolute essence in this events. I had no immediate way of contacting Harry; I told him we needed a magic version of the bat signal but of course he ignored me. I could try contacting Carlos or other Wardens but this was not an issue directly involving the White Council but instead it was one between the Faerie Courts. Even if I somehow spoke to the Merlin himself, not someone I was likely to get an instant interview with I might add, he was by nature more prone to caution and staying out of these situations entirely, which seemed to be directly counter to what Elaine's please required. I realized fate or God had really boxed me in rather nicely.

I watched Elaine reach down and pull free a small icicle token from the snow where the yeti's hand had been. It looked not unlike any small such natural ones currently hanging from the gutters throughout the city. It was only when she passed it to me and I felt the twin sensations of charged magic and unnatural cold that I knew this was the token Mab had sent her yeti messenger to deliver to her emissary. I placed it on my coat like Elaine had done with her butterfly and it instantly stuck to the material like it was fused. Looks like I did not have to concern myself with it falling off.

"We need to hurry." Elaine said impatiently to me. "We will have to find a place to cross over into Summer's demesne which at this time of year might be nearly impossible. With Lady Aurora's death the Summer Court penthouse she kept at the Rothchild Hotel closed down and I do not know if another crossover point has been established. I will have to call up a guide to show us another location and that could take hours."

Harry always warned me not to let myself get dragged into anything without first taking time to think it through; not that he had always done so himself he admitted at the time of this speech, only that his injuries should serve as a lesson to me as well. He stressed that unless I knew myself that lives were at stake and would be lost by any unnecessary delay, it was smart to always find out as much as possible about a situation and then decide the best course of action.

"I think I know a place to cross over." I said to Elaine drawing her full attention and even a bit a surprise as well. "But before we go there I need to know everything that is going on. I know why Mab has a thing for Harry, but you are a wildcard in this as far as I'm concerned. You told Harry that your involvement with Aurora had settled your debt with Queen Tatania so why then are you suddenly their chosen agent again? Why would you subject yourself to their power or make another deal with them at the cost of your services once you had fought so hard to get free?" I also needed to establish early on we would be partners and I was not playing second fiddle to her.

I saw a look of surprise in her eyes when she realized that I was perfectly content to challenge her rather than taking everything she said on faith. And with that I noted also came a twinge of fear. That proved to me that someone in the Summer Court still had their hooks in Elaine and I was damned if I was going to fall for the exact same trap that she had pulled on Harry.

"I'm willing to help." I said offering up a carrot to calm her somewhat and define this from the get go. "But I need you to come clean with me and explain everything that is going on here with you and Summer." Now came the time for the stick. "And I will have your wizard's oath on this or I am not taking one step with you."

My directness and willingness not to jump in blindly with both feet seemed to shock her to the very core and make her reconsider how to play this. I could even see the merest hint of tears forming in her eyes, but that type of crap does not work on us girls as well as it does on you boys. In fact, for the most part we tend to get annoyed or insulted when someone tries to pull that on us. Consider it a violation of professional courtesy between us gals.

"You would endanger everything, even your family, even Harry?" She asked shocked.

"You betcha!"

"Hasn't Harry taught you anything about a wizard's responsibility?" She asked me.

"Yeah from what he tells me I'm a pretty poor example of a student. I guess that is funny because all my teachers in school said the same thing about me as well." I replied. "So it's not like any of the White Council is going to fault me, a mere apprentice I will remind you, for not jumping into the middle of a Sidhe war so I don't see I have too much at stake to risk my life with some being who Harry has described as all powerful and yet lacking anything close to a moral compass."

She bit her lip as she weighed my offer. I had rightly guessed that these events were obviously vital to her, way more so than they were to me, and as long as I kept that focused in my mind that presented me with a leverage opportunity she could not overcome or bypass. As I read the cards this meant she had only two options left; to accept my offer or try to negotiate for better terms. To win in either case, especially the second meant I had to remain firm in my resolve.

I could see from the changes in her expression and stance that she was going to try for negotiation. If being a sensitive mage allowed me to read people's emotions and expressions this well then I was going to have to try my talents out at a Vegas poker table one day soon.

"I will agree to taking your oath if you take one as well promising not to reveal to Harry anything I tell you." She said throwing a few more chips on the table but not realizing I knew from her face and her posture that she did not have the cards.

"No deal." I fired back calmly. "For all I know you could tell me something vital to his life and I will not sit back and knowingly let harm come to him if I have information that can prevent it from happening." Take that Elaine I thought smugly to myself.

After a moment and a sigh of resignation she spoke again. "Fine." She surrendered. "I will take you oath but ask you only to consider everything I tell you and understand why I have kept it from Harry. It is for these reasons I would ask you not to speak of it either, but I will trust your judgment if you feel that you must.

I nodded my head knowing that everyone kept secrets and that I would take her concerns into consideration. "Can I tell you during the drive?" She asked. "Time is of the essence."

That seemed fair to me. "No problem." I said. "The place I am thinking of is likely an hour's drive this time of night. I need to make one phone call first and gather my stuff. Where all are we going and how long do you expect we will be gone?"

"We will visit Summer Court first." She said confirming what I had already gathered. "After that we will have to pay a visit to Winter to ensure Mab agrees you may serve as her agent in this." Talk about a trip impossible to try and pack for. Okay bikinis and parkas I guess were the required wardrobe. The thought of parkas reminded me I had a perfect little potion that should be just about cool right now that I should take along too.

"I hope to return by dawn though one can never be sure where the Sidhe are concerned. They may delay us just to show they can, though with a potential for war I suspect they will think better of playing petty games." She said with a note of actual fear in her voice.

I went back into the house and immediately called my parent's number. I did not want my mom worrying if I did not make it home on time tonight and then deciding to come looking for me. Of course I was not exactly sure what I wanted to tell her either, especially since she had been forced to come rescue me the last time I visited Winter. Father Forthill would just have to set forth another penance for me for lying I guess.

The phone rang twice before a male voice picked it up and said "Hello?" It threw me off for a second knowing my brother Matthew's bedtime was past and he had school tomorrow.

"Matthew, it is Molly." I said suddenly happy that I could leave a quick note with him and hopefully therefore not have to lie to mom at all about the dangerous plans of how I intended to spend my evening.

"It's Daniel." He said with obvious annoyance in his voice either from me mistaking him for his younger brother or having to talk to me at all. What he was doing home so early I did not know and did not have time to reason out. Since he started his new job he had been rolling in about midnight and was gone every morning by about ten.

"Sorry Daniel." I said trying to retract the seeming insult I had offered. "Can you leave mom a note that I am working on my magical studies tonight and will get home tomorrow morning? Tell her I will still make it to the hospital on time." I tried to be as contrite as I was capable of which I have to tell you for me is not easy.

"Sure thing." He said. "I'll tell her you are off playing witch and don't have time for family right now." He said and then hung up the phone before the shock I felt when I realized what he had just said to me turned to rage and I could respond. I thought about immediately calling him back but he likely wanted me to do just that so that the ringing would wake up the whole house and I would be trapped explaining myself, and having to do so angry no less, to mom this time. I swallowed it all down and slammed the phone handset back on its cradle before turning to gather up my stuff.

Elaine looked at me askew seeing the rage burning in my eyes. "Something you want to talk about?" She asked.

"Nope." I ignored her and went downstairs to gather up my cold resistance potion and put it in my backpack as well. I made sure all the candles were out and then climbed back up the stairs, closed off the workshop, and gathered up my keys. Elaine's patient look was a second offer to listen if I chose to talk about it but that proposal failed as badly as the first.

"After you." I said holding my hand out so that she would pass me and I could close and lock up Harry's apartment and reset the wards. I could feel her eyes on me but I shrugged it off and called forth the necessary magic to protect his place while I was out. I'd have to tell Harry when he got back that Elaine had gotten through his defenses and see if he felt changing or adding to them was in order.

We walked across the street to my car and Elaine stepped around to the passenger side and reached for the handle. "Not yet." I said drawing her up short to stare in my direction.

"I will have your official oath first or we are not going anywhere." I said rather matter of factly.

She sighed again in resignation then spoke. "I swear to provide you all the information you requested on this subject." She said and I felt the surge of magic that bound her very power to this oath. While this wording allowed Elaine to keep other secrets about herself, it was enough to ensure she told me what I needed to know. If she failed to do so she would lose her powers. As you see oaths are something we wizards take very seriously.

"Alright get in." I said and did so myself, tossing my backpack into the backseat by my practice sword.

The car started up and we headed off into town, the streets only relatively busy by Chicago standards. I knew the destination and the best roads to get me there so I was not required to focus fully on the drive, except to avoid the occasional patch of black ice. I wanted her story all out in the open before we crossed over into Faerie so that I could back out if I felt it was necessary or at least call in reinforcements before I left. Just because I knew I was not about to let the whole world fall into some magically caused ice age did not mean I had to tell Elaine this. I preferred her to think I was young and did not care so she could not play me.

"Let's start at the beginning Elaine." I said once I was on the road and had some heat seeping into the car. "Why are you still working for Summer if you told Harry your debt was paid off?"

"I told Harry my debt to Titania was paid off." She corrected. "I never told him my debt to the Summer Court was paid in full."

"And of course you let him believe this half truth." I said with obvious irritation in my voice.

"Yes I did." She admitted. "Sort of like telling your brother that you were practicing your magic tonight rather than admitting you were going to go traipsing off to the Nevernever and get yourself in the middle of a potential war between the Seelie and Unseelie Courts."

"Yeah well my interactions with them are complicated." I replied not liking the comparison.

"As are mine with the Summer Court." Elaine countered and I had to give her the benefit of the doubt she had more complications dealing with them than just an obnoxious younger brother.

I let her sentence hang for a few moments between us as we drove in silence. I had made my request and it was up to Elaine to honor it or face the consequences of her oath.

After a bit she began in a quiet and submissive voice. "What has Harry told you about us…about me?" She asked. "I need to know where I must begin in my explaining."

"I know you and he were apprentices to the wizard Justin DuMorne." I said. "I know that when Justin tried to enslave him that Harry killed him and for a long time thought he had killed you too." She watched me and nodded in apprehension telling me there was much to this story that I was unfamiliar with obviously. Trust Harry to protect a woman's reputation by not telling me everything.

"And of course I know about your contract with Summer that was supposedly completed." I said finally. She closed her eyes and nodded once more and without opening them again she began to speak, obviously concentrating on her story.

"Justin found me when I was just coming into my powers. I had found I could make sparks or fire by concentrating on these ideas." Elaine said as she leaned back and got comfortable, or at least tried to project that image. She probably did not understand I could read the fear she was projecting by having to reveal these memories. But I figured if she was afraid then it was likely she was being completely honest as well.

"He literally pulled me from the fire as I awoke in my bedroom one night to find my house was completely engulfed in flames. I screamed for my parents to come and save me, even as I realized that my dreams had been of being trapped in fire. I immediately understood that I had willed forth this magic in my sleep." She said.

"I tried to get away but the fire was already creeping up my walls and flowing across the ceiling. My eyes burned from the smoke and I rolled out of bed and to the floor finding just enough clear air to breathe and to scream some more for my parents. In the distance I could hear parts of the house collapsing, some so close as to make the floor shudder beneath me as I prayed for my mom to come rescue me."

"But it was not my mom or my dad who smashed in the window in my room and drew the smoke and fire out. It was Justin DuMorne in all his magical glory." She said trying for neutrality in her voice. "He was wearing the grey cloak of a Warden and looked like an avenging angel coming to punish me. He later explained that he had sensed the troubled spell I had inadvertently cast in my sleep and came to investigate the source, finding in the process I had set my entire house on fire.

We managed to only just escape due thanks in a large part to his personal shield spell as the house literally collapsed around us. My parents unfortunately were not so lucky." She paused and I sensed the real grief she carried for this act. I could tell it was all from memories she had hoped long put behind her. She had avoided them for a long time most likely; until I made her dredge them up again.

"Justin was a Warden?" I asked hoping to distract her from unnecessary pain and on to the next part of her story. "I had only ever heard he was involved with black magic."

"He was a part of both." She said. "I did not know what a Warden was when he rescued me but that turned out to be the first thing he explained to me. He told me he was one of those who policed those with magic powers. And then he explained the Laws of Magic to me and that I had violated the First Law by killing my parents with my magic. The rules required he turn me over for immediate trial and likely execution."

I could only picture Morgan looking down on me as Elaine told her tale and I knew had he been the one to find me at the Splattercon film festival I would no doubt be dead today. The dedication of the majority of these men and women who wore the grey cloaks to their task was nearly fanatical. Lucky for me it was Harry who had been the one to find me.

"I explained to Justin that I had not done this of my own will, in fact I had been asleep. Still I knew from his explanation of his responsibility and the Laws of Magic that if anything this subconscious, uncontrolled use made me even more dangerous as far as the White Council was concerned. I was afraid and I did not want to die."

"He saved you." I said seeing the similarity in her story with that of my own. She only nodded. "He took you before the Council and defended you for this unknowing mistake."

"No." She said. "He did not tell the Council or the Wardens about me." She explained removing the sense of empathy I had allowed to creep into my mind at her story. "He said they would never understand. They would never allow me to live after having killed my parents with magic." She paused and spoke even softer. "But he said perhaps I had another option if I was willing to do exactly what he said."

"He told me that he was currently training an apprentice about my age and that he could take on a second one without any effort." She explained. "But I could never tell anyone what I had done, not even Harry, or Justin and I would both be executed. When you are looking at the only life preserver you are likely to be thrown you do not care that it says Titanic on it."

While the reference seemed a little odd to me I accepted that it made sense to her and merely made a soft 'huh' to tell her I was listening at that she was free to proceed.

"I accepted this choice as you know and came to live with Justin. We told Harry only that I was another apprentice Justin had taken on and that we would be studying together. Harry has always been a generous soul where women are concerned as I'm sure you know so he had no objections to another student, especially once we came into our teenage years." She said with just a hint of

"Harry was my first." She said not elaborating what kind of 'first' and I did not need to ask though I admit this caused a little bit of anger in me to hear that I likely projected inadvertently outward which caused her to pause and open her eyes and look at me.

"You were saying?" I said as I turned quickly and flipped off an unsuspecting cabbie to make Elaine think the feeling of hostility she sensed was not related to her. Yeah that is another couple of Hail Mary's for that little deception and the poor grief I caused the undeserving cabbie.

I watched her out of the corner of my eye until she turned back from staring at me and closed her eyes once more to get back into her story. "We shared a lot in those days. He told me about missing his family, especially his mother whom he thought about often though barely knew. I made up a story about my own family's death so that I would not have to tell him the truth as I promised Justin. It also drew us closer in shared pain. She said. "And then one day he told me about his godmother. I assume he has mentioned her to you?" She asked.

I merely nodded my head and stayed concentrating on my driving as I was turning off onto the next road I needed. I already knew The Leanansidhe is a noble in Winter, the Handmaiden to Mab, and likely as talented in raw magical power as the young queen Lady Maeve or close enough that I would never know the difference in a fight with either as I died horribly. I also knew that Harry had been bound to The Leanansidhe by his mother supposedly as a means to protect him but she had been anything but a comforting substitute parent responsible for his moral upbringing after his mother's death. Yeah that so was not the case he faced unless you consider wanting to transform you godchild into a hellhound as a moral decision.

"When Harry told me of Lea and how it was her job to protect him I wondered if perhaps that was just the type of arrangement I should consider for myself." Elaine continued. "By the time I thought about this Justin had moved beyond being merely our wizard master and start moving toward becoming our slave master. His dark magic had infected his soul and he began to make me uncomfortable to be around. I feared for Harry and myself, but mostly for myself."

"I did not want Harry or Justin to know what I was considering in seeking out protection from an outside source." She explained. "Thankfully Justin had a good number of books in his library on the subject of those beings that exist in the Nevernever. I decided up front to avoid the Unseelie Court of Winter in part because Harry had his connection there and I feared word of my investigations getting back to him, but even more so since the Winter Court was not known for its benevolence in general. Harry's mother's arrangement with Lea came at some great price personal I have no doubt."

"The neutral Wyldfae generally are strictly self motivated and with the exception of a few rather dangerous beings like the Erlking, leader of the Great Hunt, they did not seem to have any history of granting power or wisdom to mortals." She said matching in essence what Harry's lessons had taught me. "In fact the most common interaction with mortals appeared to be having them for dinner." You will note the key phrase here is not having them _to_ dinner which is the proper way of speaking of an invitation to dine and converse in words other than 'please don't eat me.'

"The Non-Fae creatures were, if anything, even less inclined to deal with mortals except where direct profit is concerned and the types of things an unemployed teenage girl had to offer were outside the boundaries of what I was willing to negotiate with." Elaine said. "My studies of Justin's books taught me that they certainly had power but the cost of such dealings is rarely in a mortal's best interest."

"The Non-Fae?" I asked. This was a term I was unfamiliar with during my studies with Harry and in playing Arcanos. I did not want to distract Elaine from her story but needed to understand what she was speaking of in case it had any relevance to her story.

"Those are the creatures of the Nevernever not a part of the Fae such as the dwarven races who despise the Fae except as paying customers and of course the dragons." She explained. "Dwarves willingly deal some with humans but only on a contract for goods basis so would those types of bargains would not be all that useful for what I was looking for and dragons…" She paused and shuddered. "Dragons are best avoided thoroughly and completely except in the most extreme situations." She shuddered one more time telling me she had some personal experiences with at least one of these creature in her life. I was tempted to ask about it but figured she would tell me if it played a direct part in what I needed to know and if it did not we probably did not have time right now for the distraction.

"With all of those options unavailable I focused solely upon the Summer Court as the Seelie presented the most reasonable chance in my opinion of the time to find a means to protect myself from Justin. I researched all he had on the powers within the Summer Court and decided that I was too young and inexperienced to deal directly with any of the Queens if I wanted to live. That left me to seek out one of the lesser beings instead." She continued and I felt a well of dread for her. Harry had made no illusions that such dealings were foolhardy at best and that I was to avoid such things whenever possible. So why and I here then wearing Mab's token? I shook my head at the absurdity and the knowledge Harry would be giving me a long talking to once this night was over I had no doubt.

"The Courts are balanced in all things so it was my mind to seek out Lea's counterpart in Summer. With research I learned her name is Abagalesidhe, known also as the Lady of the Summer Storm. The Romans once worshipped her as a goddess." She explained. "And it is because of her that mankind still to this day calls a torrential downpour a gale."

I was personally unfamiliar with the being she mentioned as Harry had kept me focused on the six queens and two knights in addition to his godmother. He explained in his experience that most trouble in the Nevernever would trace back to one of these nine beings. Now it seemed that I had a tenth name to add to the list of Fairie concerns. "You must have been very young." I said. "How did you summon such a being?" I tried jumping a little ahead in where her story seemed to be going.

I waited for a summer night when such a storm was due to strike for I knew that to be the strongest time to reach out to her. On Justin's property there was a small runoff creek that ran through the woods and in the middle of one part of that stream a small six-foot island of grass sat that allowed the creek to trickle past on both sides. It was a little private sanctuary place I had found soon after coming to live with Justin and I had never told Harry about it because it was the one place I liked to think of as all my own; my place to seek refuge when I needed to be alone."

"When I felt I understood how to summon Abagale and knew the conditions that night to be right for it, I went to this island and prepared it to serve as my summoning circle. I started by drawing out the necessary symbols in the soil and clearing away any stray brush that might break the lines once the magic had been cast. Harry and I had watched Justin cast such spells, but they were not ones he permitted us yet, though he promised that soon we would be assisting him in such rituals." Once more she shuddered making me understand that she realized now what he meant was he would use their life force as power for such spells when he held them as thralls.

"As I said I thought I understood how such spells were cast." She said. "My research and observations had taught me that much. Of course actually casting such a spell is a bit more intimidating when you know what all can go wrong. Fortunately I was not graced with that knowledge or experience at the time and desperation made me ignore those little voices of warning inside my own head." I nearly asked Elaine at that point if her voice sounded like her master Justin's just like mine sounded like Harry's.

"As the storm reached nearly its full peak I left the house and went to my circle in the woods and cast the spell without stopping to consider it further." Elaine now was speaking comfortably but with a sense of remembered excitement as well. "I felt the magic build as I had expected. I felt it flow forth. And then I felt nothing." She said.

"I knew I had cast the spell correctly in part because it had not blown back and killed me, but without a result it seemed to me something was wrong." She continued. "I crossed the rapidly rising water in the creek and stared at my symbols in the wet dirt, confirming for myself that they were all still correctly copied, and that Justin had not known of my attempt and changed them in some way. And as I tried to figure out what I had done wrong a bolt of lightning struck down from the heavens and into the small island not three feet from where I stood sending my body flying and my eyes blinded in a flash of impossibly brilliant light.

I landed on the edge of the island, my hands the only thing keeping my upper body from falling underneath the rapidly flowing runoff stream. And as my vision cleared finally I saw standing before me the being I had called to and knew in that instant I had made a terrible mistake." She said.

"Her body seemed composed of lightning for it crackled and spat sparks as she stared down at me. Her skin glowed, not in a shine of health but literally glowed like raw energy from white in the lightest parts to burnt orange in those aspects of her form still in shade." Elaine seemed still in awe and having had my own dealing with a few beings of such overwhelming power I certainly comprehended why. "I understood then why the Romans had thought her the goddess of lightning and named her Fulgora though there was no doubt this was indeed The Abagalesidhe I was looking upon." She continued.

"'Why did you seek me out mortal child?' She asked looking down upon me with shining eyes that flashed in perfect synchronization with the lightning dancing in the heavens above us."

"I stumbled to my feet. My rain soaked nightdress clinging to my body and making me look like a ragged street urchin compared to her power and beauty. But I knew from observing Justin that I must not let my will waiver. I must not doubt myself or my power over her would be gone and she would be free to do to me whatever she desired."

Elaine took a breath, opened her eyes, and then looked over at me and smiled. "I was so naïve to think I had any control." She said before resuming her pose and continuing. "'Abagalesidhe if you wish your freedom from my circle you shall provide me your promise to protect me from Justin DuMonte.' I commanded pushing my will into the binding circle that surrounded the Handmaiden of Summer."

"Her eyes narrowed as another bolt of lightning struck not far from us in the woods to startle me." Elaine seemed to be emotionally connected to these events once more as her breathing seemed to quicken. "I turned back from that distraction and Abagale's will slammed against the barrier of my will's creation, probing and pushing it as she sought a weakness in my spell. I held on during this attack with my own will and slowly pushed her back giving added strength to the circle until she was not longer trying to escape."

"'You shall not escape until you agree to my terms Abagalesidhe.' I said again with a bit of arrogance knowing now my power had stood up to her own. I kept my will focused upon the circle."

"'This spell is truly impressive for a mortal and one so young as yourself.' She smiled at me. 'Impressive but irrelevant.' With a mere flick of her wrist she battered a blast against at my circle and this time I felt a measure of her true power. The circle shattered and for the second time in almost as many minutes I was sent flying this time fully into the creek, only I knew now Abagale was free to pursue me!"

"I scrambled to my feet in the torrent of water and somehow fled back across the creek before scrambling up the other side of the bank. Only then did I have the courage to turn and see how close the Summer Handmaiden was to ending my life. But when I turned to look I saw she was not pursuing me. She stood at the edge of the island and watched me with an undisguised look of amusement in her eyes. Something about that look made me mad enough that I stopped running and turned to face her with a look of defiance of my own aimed in her direction."

"Her own look of amusement paused and as we stared each other down her smile grew even wider and a series of four bolts of lightning struck around me in each compass direction. 'It seems I stand corrected.' She said as I did not flinch from her lightning but instead kept facing the real threat. 'Yes indeed child perhaps there is indeed enough spirit about you to make an offer as my vassal that might convince me overlook your impertinence and perhaps offer you the protection of Summer.' She spoke to me but made no move to come forward so I made no additional move to flee."

"'What are your terms?' I asked her knowing that I was no worse off now returning to Justin without any protection and it cost me nothing to hear her out at least."

"'I demand your loyal service of course.' She said with an appropriate bolt of lightning dancing across the night sky through the rolling black clouds undoubtedly at her command. 'You will swear to serve as my mortal agent and I will seek out my Queen's blessing to offer you the very protection that you desire against your mortal master.'"

"'Not good enough.' I bartered back. 'You merely offer me a chance to hide for the short period until Justin forgets about me but your payment for this runs for the rest of my life.' I reasoned and she smiled and nodded her head impressed that one so young would not so easily be trapped."

"'Then let us commit to the standard contract among our kind.' She provided her counteroffer. 'Three services you shall render to me and in exchange I serve as liaison with Queen Tatania to provide you sanctuary.' She smiled and I was so entranced by her charm that I nearly failed to notice how she stepped back slightly as the water of the creek rose even further now that the storm was upon us in full force."

Elaine paused and looked at me as if judging if I caught on to the secret she was offering. "Running water, of course!" I said nodding my head. "Your magical barrier had failed but she was stopped by the flowing water which complicated her ability to reach you." I said recalling that Harry had explained running water was often a good means of attack or defense against things from the Nevernever.

"Your answer is correct but you path of reasoning to get there is faulty Molly." Elaine replied. "Though in fact many such creatures are indeed dispelled or destroyed by running water, the royal courts of Summer and Winter are much stronger so not stopped by something so simple as this. You could immerse Lea under Niagara Falls and she would still destroy you the instant she decided to. In fact I believe she likes to walk upon waves just to show this type of superiority over lesser Fae."

"Then what was it about the water that stopped her?" I asked now obviously confused.

"As I said she was called the Goddess of Lightning once." Elaine repeated. "Her power is derived from elemental lightning just as there are similar creatures of fire, water, and air." She did not need to tell me there were a host of other type elementals as well for this was part and parcel of my regular magical studies as well.

"Ah so a large body of water would short out her powerbase." I reasoned. It was not all that different from the effect of using some of Summer's power at Arctis Tor, the Heart of Winter, a place I had inadvertently visited before becoming Harry's apprentice and seeing this effect firsthand. Opposing forces like that tended to cause all types of terrible things.

"It removes her ability to call upon her magic only for the time she is in contact with ground water." Elaine nodded. "She Abagalesidhe retains her ability to walk through it as all such beings, not to mention she is a well trained warrior as well, so had she chosen to she could have easily waded after me and then dispatched me with a weapon or quickly recharged to destroy me. Of course at the time I thought her action the same weakness you assumed at first as well." She explained before turning back to her story.

"In truth though, by this point I had despaired at finding a guardian who would protect me." She said. "A contract such as she seemed to offer seemed no better than what I face with Justin, and he at least was mortal so prone to eventually dying. 'I will consider your offer oh great Abagalesidhe.' I said. 'You shall have my answer soon.' In truth I had no intention of ever finishing this particular conversation but it was not like I was about to tell her that." Elaine informed me.

"'I will know your answer probably even sooner than you.' She smiled at me in that most disturbing way the Fae have of telling you they know more of what is to come than you do. Unfortunately that was true in this case as well. With a flash of power she was gone, my eyes merely registering what looked to be a bolt of lightning firing upward instead of down for once."

"I ran back to the manor, hoping to get free from the rain and put this night's events safely behind me. I entered through the side door I had left unlocked and did not think Justin would consider checking but of course I was wrong. He had felt the power that Abagale had called down from the heavens during our discussion and saw my room was unoccupied. While he may not know the night's true purpose, Justin always was one to desire all power for himself." She continued.

"I discarded my muddy shoes at the door and turned to head up to my room when I saw him step into the hallway and cast his spell. I reflexively called forth a shield but the spell he cast was not one of the body such as fire or lightning, but one of the mind instead." She said. For my part at this disclosure I kept my eyes focused forward on the drive so not to inadvertently give away any expression at this revelation. "I was overwhelmed with fear and despair, the same feelings I had felt in the burning ruins of my family home washed over me once more and I cried out in grief before collapsing to near unconsciousness."

"I felt Justin pick me up and carry me back up the stairs to my room. I was reviled by his touch but I was so filled with panic that I was nearly comatose and unable to form a coherent thought to resist."

"I heard Harry come to his door as we passed and ask if everything was alright. Harry always cared and I could hear concern in his voice for me. But Justin ordered him back to bed for we had school tomorrow. He told Harry I was merely sick and would likely be staying home but that he would have me up and around like my old self by the time school was over."

"That night, and into the next day, Justin cast his black magic spells and made me his thrall." Elaine said and then opened her eyes to stare at me. "Would you accept that this event has taken place and spare me the explanation to you of the horrors of having your mind taken over and dominated, no not just dominated but raped by another?" She asked me. "I would not want you to suffer the dreams from hearing such things that I have had to live with after experiencing them."

I thought of her words and knew that this is what I had in essence done to my two friends to cure them from using drugs. I had been so sure that what I was doing had been correct, that I was using the power that God had graced me with to save not only their lives, but the life of their baby as well. Now here I was hearing that what I had thought was a good action Elaine was choosing to call nothing short of rape. The idea that I had done something so vile like that to ones I had considered friends struck home in my soul and I merely nodded to her request not trusting myself to speak.

"Thank you for that Molly." She whispered obviously pleased to keep those personal demons still locked away. Little did she realize that I had now released my own.

"By the time Harry arrived home I was completely Justin's creature, though he directed me to act like all was normal and not to speak of any of last night's events to Harry." She went on with her story. "Though I fought against it the spell was too strong and two weeks later when Justin decided it was time to do the same thing to Harry I was right there as his unwilling accomplice, casting the spell of binding on my love while Justin prepared for the domination of his body and mind as well."

"But Harry knew my spells just as strongly as his own and therefore knew the weakness in the binding I had cast upon him. He used this and escaped, fleeing first from the two of us he thought had cared for him. Justin sent a demon after the boy. Somehow Harry defeated it, or in truth broke its binding which the magical backlash drained Justin severely. Because of this the spells Justin ahd cast upon me began to weaken." Elaine said with undisguised pride in Harry's actions. "And instead of fleeing, Harry returned while Justin was weakened and did battle with him."

"In the midst of the fight one of Harry's spells tossed both Justin and I across the room." She continued. "I happened to land upon an antique Edison lamp and the resident battery-like charge still in it snapped away the rest of the binding spell still upon me. I realized instantly that electricity, the controlled version of Abagalesidhe's lightning, had freed me from Justin. That was no accident."

"As the two continued their magical war I fled, afraid to face the master from whom I'd escaped or the lover whom I betrayed." She said.

"It was raining once more, likely fate or the Handmaiden of Summer choosing as a final proof or so it seemed. I stumbled my way to the creek where the small island remained, its grass blackened by the bolts of lighting and Abagale's presence. I kneeled down on the charred wet grass and looked up into the heavens at the lightning dancing in the clouds."

"'Abagalesidhe I accept your bargain.' I cried out into the storm as the clouds opened up their full fury upon me." Elaine now had tears streaming down her face as I pulled up at our destination. "And in an instant my body went from feeling the cold shivering rain to being warm and dry and I opened my eyes to find myself in Summer Court."

"'Your bargain was accepted Elaine Mallory.' Though Abagalesidhe stood before me the voice that spoke came from Queen Tatania who sat to the side upon her golden throne. 'You are hereby made a ward of the Summer Court and placed under our protection in exchange for your three promised services to my handmaiden and of course the one service now owed to me in saving your life this night.' She informed me. I merely bowed, knowing then that I had traded one master for another."

Elaine turned to look at me. "That is the story. I repaid the Queen's price in helping Harry defeat Aurora but I have not yet settled my debt to Abagale. She has called me forth to do so and says that a mortal agent is required for this task. I can only assume that Mab came to the same conclusion or desires to keep the balance and so selected Harry. That is truly all I know at this time." She looked toward me and I could tell she was speaking the truth.

"Well that is good timing because we are here." I said opening my car door and getting out without having to tell her to do the same. In truth the shock of the rape like feeling was still playing with my conscience so I wanted to move on quickly and not focus upon this.

"A technology museum?" Elaine asked obviously confused at our destination.

"Yes, they have a display on the second level called the Faerie Castle." I said. "This spring I got the sense that it could be a crossing point to the Nevernever. I guess now is the time to prove me right." I headed around to the back and hoped the museum's security had not installed new locks or alarms since I had fizzled out the old ones.

"Wait a minute." Elaine called to me and stopped staring wide eyed at the building. "I get a sense of great power here, something lingering. Something really powerful and magical happened here and it left the surrounding area almost scarred."

"Yeah that would probably be the million or so souls I free last spring." I said starting to walk again like everything was normal but feeling her sense of total shock at my declaration. "Yeah that or what is left of the pagan goddess I banished." I turned and gave her a wink that said all too clearly I was not kidding. In my own mind I just hoped this perky little kitty had not used up all her nine lives just yet!


	6. Chapter 6

**Semper Fidelis**

**_Chapter 6_**

Crossing over into the Nevernever is not particularly easy even at the weaker places between worls, but then again Elaine was the one required to cast the spell while I merely had to hang on and enjoy the ride so to speak. Thankfully Elaine said I was correct in my assumption that the museum's Fairy Castle was indeed a crossover point to the Nevernever. She even complimented my on my ability to sense such subtle things as far as magic was concerned. I did not explain that this was my specialty because the less she knew about my power, or lack thereof, the better I was in dealing with her on a near equal basis. And truth be told I just did not trust her.

As soon as we stepped through her portal she created we found ourselves in the lands of Summer based upon how green and blooming everything appeared to be compared to the November in Chicago we had just left. Where our luck failed us is in the fact that we had not appeared in the immediate area of the court itself, nor was this gathering place readily apparent in any direction around the horizon which we could see.

"So what now?" I asked since I figured if Elaine was Summer's emissary then the responsibility rested with her to get us to where we needed to go. "Do we wander in any particular direction?"

"No we wait here for a moment and send a text message." Elaine explained unclasping the butterfly pin from her cloak and whispering loud enough for me to hear.

"Tell the court that the emissaries have arrived." She said and the broach transformed into a regular, not metallic, living version of the creature in her palm. Knowing the speed of such things I considered sitting down if this was to be our messenger since I figured we were in for a significant wait. But the magical creature surprised me and shot up from her palm like a bottle rocket, circled me three times coming closer each time almost to the point I wanted to swat it like an annoying horsefly, and then sped off toward the nearest range of hills leaving a rainbow hue behind it that slowly faded after a few seconds.

"Mark that direction in your mind and this location where we stand in your heart." Elaine said looking around and obviously trying to do so herself. "We will follow the butterfly's direction until our escorts and transportation arrive, but we need to make sure we return here to this exact location so we know how to get back home.

Picture the cleanest national park you have ever heard of. Okay now take that one step farther and picture that someone or something comes by every night and cleans up even the natural refuse like leaves or dandelion spores also. I had watched too many Disney movies growing up so the idea of some talking squirrels in janitor clothes seemed the most probable explanation to me at that moment.

What it meant is that this part of Summer's lands looked pretty much like every other part of Summer's lands to me. I looked around but there were no even a discarded tree branches or some visible stones to pile up or anything else to use as a marker. I even tried to scuff the ground with my shoe but the grass was too well grown in. The turf was a golfer's dream. I wondered how much Tiger Woods would pay to use this on a golf course and save on grounds keeping. Okay then I guess we just have to play Anti-Smokey in this otherwise pristine environment.

"Fuego!" I said shooting a small ball of flame at the ground and watching the grass char in a one foot circle or so.

"No!" Elaine warned me just a moment too late.

"Don't worry, I'm going to put it out." I said using my sneakers to tap out the fire before it got too big. That was really not a worry because everything was green and alive not dried out and dead like fires tended to prefer. I guess Elaine is just one of those tree hugger types. Made sense, Harry said she had been living in California.

"No, I was just going to tell you not to waste your magic." Elaine said and then pointed to the spot.

Not seconds after I lifted my foot away new green shoots were already growing into the charred area and sprouting to bring forth even more greenery. In less than a minute while I watched in awe the fire damaged area I had wrought was no longer different compared to the surrounding grasses.

"See." She said with a hint of a smile.

"Well that sucks!" I said. "How are we supposed to mark this location then?" I asked.

"You sensed the crossing point from the other side. Can't you do the same from this side?" She asked me and it was obvious from her own look that she could not.

Of course she would not understand that the difference between our world and the Nevernever is that everything over here is magical so it is easy to sense it from the other side. It is sort of like sitting in a quiet room and hearing soft music playing from beyond the closed door. But being in the Nevernever is like being at a nightclub with a live rock band and trying to hear if the room next door is quiet. You have to almost put your ear on the door and even then you are not likely to hear silence compared to the background noise all around you. Well live and learn I guess.

"I only felt the portal on the other side when I got close to it." I said somewhat truthfully. "This whole place looks the same to me. I could wander one hill over and walk right by it." I explained.

"Then we have to just count on our memories or someone from the court to guide us back." Elaine said with a resigned sense of inevitability before she turned and started to walk off following the butterfly of Summer's last course. I had heard about such a creature before from Harry's story of coming to rescue me so I understood it was much more than it seemed. In fact, upon remembering that, and of course assuming the balance between Summer and Winter, I reached a moment of sudden inspiration. Before Elaine could tell me to stop I pulled the Winter's Emissary icicle pin from my own coat and stabbed it into the ground.

The effect was instantaneous and if the power of Summer was impressive in its restoring of the burned area back to its natural beauty, then the power displayed by Winter turning the land brown and killing the grass outward was even more so. In merely two breaths the now dying area pushed out to a two foot in radius from the pulsating icicle. I yanked it out quickly before I did too much more damage and was satisfied to see that Summer's grasses and sprouts trying to restore the area would wither as they pushed into the edges of the dead circle that the icicle had made. It took a few seconds but finally the two areas seemed to achieve a new sense of equilibrium leaving this black scar on the land visible from any of the surrounding hills.

"What have you done?" Elaine asked with eyes wide in panic having turned to look back toward me.

"Marked our escape route." I said.

"But you have used the power of Winter!" She said stating the obvious as I clipped the icon pack on my coat.

"If I'm the Emissary of Winter just what do you expect me to use?" I said seeing no issue though the panic of a more powerful wizard made me wonder if perhaps I had made a tactical error of judgment. But no one in Summer Court was going to respect the emissary of their enemy if I showed fear or regret so I shrugged it off and began walking up the same hill and passed Elaine without giving her a second look.

I heard her whisper. "Yeah I think putting some distance between here and us as quickly as possible is a pretty good idea." She caught up to me in only a few steps and while I was just a tad taller the pace she maintained made me stride quickly to keep up with her.

There really is no way to measure time very well in the Summer parts of Nevernever, at least none that were readily apparent to me though I suspect Harry knows one or two. Elaine probably did as well but I was not about to ask and show my own ignorance. Worse still I feared if I did ask it would turn out to be a simple answer I had overlooked and this would make me look even more foolish and inexperienced. I justified this by assuming that in the end it really did not matter as it's is not like even if I had somewhere to be or even if I did that I had the means to get there on my own at the moment. So I kept walking and said nothing about it.

So instead of time I measured the number of hills we climbed and was on the upslope of number eight when Elaine reached out a hand in a silent universal signal for us to stop. I did so at once and began to feel the thrumming in the Earth that she had obviously already sensed. As I caught my breath I could feel these rhythmic pulses getting stronger with every passing moment. Obviously whoever or whatever was making the ground shake was getting closer and doing so rather quickly.

I looked to Elaine and noticed that she appeared tense. This was likely because she did not know what it was that was coming our way, and without her butterfly pin that defined her status the new visitor crossing our path might mistake us for something foreign and dangerous, due to the pin I was wearing, or merely just a quick, convenient snack. Neither of those two options appealed to me at the moment.

I thought maybe it was smarter for the two of us to race up to the top of the hill we were climbing because I knew someone had told me high ground was always advantageous in a battle, but Elaine had me stop. "Prepare a shield or an attack and wait for my signal." She ordered and while I might have normally bristled over her assuming authority I figured she had more experience than me with things here in the Nevernever so who was I to argue about what was likely a smart plan. I also noted her tone sounded a lot like Harry's and made me wonder if that was a result of their training together.

A burst of rainbow light flashed over the top of the hill like a gunshot and struck Elaine in the chest but without causing her to move as much as a step backwards or even lean in response. When the dazzle cleared I looked closer I noted that her butterfly token had returned and I was thankful for it. Perhaps the badge would be enough of a symbol of Summer's power to give whatever was coming our way in a hurry to pause for a moment and reconsider any hostile thoughts it may be having. From the way the ground trembled under my feet it was obviously something pretty big and heavy.

Or for that matter two somethings it turned out.

The first looked initially like Fabio or another of those Harlequin romance novel cover models with the bursting pectorals and the wild mane of unruly hair to his bare shoulders that spoke here was a man not meant to be tamed except perhaps by the love of a good woman. When the rest of him from the chest down became visible mere seconds later and turned out to be the body of a horse, okay make that stallion, I knew for certain that his 'good woman' was going to have to be very open minded as well. This being my first centaur I had seen outside some Greek vases I'd have to say he certainly fit the dominant masculine stereotype to a tee.

"Cheiron!" Elaine nearly squealed in joy obviously recognizing the great centaur who reined in immediately and smiled slightly at seeing her as well. They obviously were more friends than acquaintances.

"Queen's Emissary." He said bending his front two knees and bowing his head in respect before rising up again fully and meeting her look. I am tall for a woman and I barely reached his lower chest. "My heart is filled with sunlight to see you again though I regret such cold, dark times brewing serve as the cause for this reunion." Okay, I learned very quickly that centaurs are really into the whole formal speech thing. Not the type to say 'Hey Elaine, long time no see' I guess. I also caught the not so subtle references to Winter he made in his speech. Then again I guess for Summer Court if you stubbed your toes you found a way to blame Winter for it.

"Time is of the essence my lady." He said bowing once more in respect and to indicate he was obviously under strict orders. "I was sent to serve as your escort and transport Summer Emissary."

"And am I doth... ith… perchance… oh the heck with it, what am I supposed to do walk?" I asked drawing the attention of both of them from their obvious happy reunion to my own lack of transportation.

Cheiron looked closely at me, noting my white, some might say snow-colored, hair and of course the Winter icicle pin on my coat and through a determined act of will forced all natural hostile emotions from his face. Of course I could still sense them emanating from the very pores of his body toward me. I tried to ignore his reaction as well and play my assigned role as a diplomat, realizing how far out of my skill set this task was. How the heck do I let myself get caught up in these things?

"Winter Emissary you own ride approaches." Cheiron said to me with a much stiffer and not nearly as elegant bow, while also shaking of his head. "I would never have believed such an honor would be offered to one aligned to the Unseelie's kind but as we live we see all sorts of incredible things." He said then added an apparent afterthought for further effect or as a subtle challenge. "That is right up until we die."

"What do you mean such an honor?" Elaine asked but her question was answered not by Cheiron but instead by the arrival of the second something I had mentioned.

When I said my hair is white this is a false reflection of the true color when compared to the coat of this new arrival. Its body was so pure in color that it glowed and I could not long stare at this without my eyes beginning to tear up. Like Cheiron it too rode upon four legs but had no human aspects to it. Instead its defining feature was a long, gleaming, golden eighteen inch solitary horn that rose from between its eyes and left no doubt as to its identity so there was no need to even say it aloud.

"A unicorn?" Elaine cried out in obvious bewilderment. Ok let me amend my previous statement to say I saw no need to say its identity aloud. Obvious Elaine likes to state the obvious.

"How is that possible?" She asked looking first to Cheiron. "The rule for binding such a creature is sacrosanct. To try means death of either the rider or the animal. No one may ride a unicorn except a woman pure of…" She suddenly stopped and looked right at me.

"Molly are you a virgin?" She asked.

Okay I did not need a mirror to tell me that the sudden warmth I was feeling on my face meant that my blushing was deep and fiery and left little room for doubt even though I sputtered a response anyway. "I am not sure how that is relevant to our mission." I said trying to distract away from this conversation. Why it was that everyone who had even a touch of magic that I met kept focusing on this one specific aspect of my life was becoming more than I cared to deal with.

"But the way you…" She said looking at me with an obvious preconceived judgment before finally stopping in midsentence said it all. It is so annoying that just because I wear black a lot, have just a couple piercings, and a few tattoos, and therefore serve as the visual opposite of what a 'good girl' supposedly is this somehow meant that I was obviously promiscuous. Jenny Mercer is a perfect example of looking like a good girl and you certainly do not want to hear the rumors they say about her! The fact that some are from me overhearing my own brother talking to his friends and also knowing the penances he was assigned nearly every week by Father Forthill seemed to me to lend evidence to their accuracy. But of course no one thinks ill of her!

"Look I am not going to discuss…" I began to say but was interrupted by the centaur.

"It could merely be she has not found a stallion capable of breaking her to his will and taking her." He said relatively calmly to Elaine with looking at me and obviously also had no concern that I was standing right here being discussed in the third person. "I have been less than impressed with the males of your species I have encountered as they all seem small and scrawny compared to even the smallest of the centaur foals. In our herds they would be chased off and not allowed to breed for fear of weakening the herd's strength. I do not understand why most of your humans are not gelded so only the biggest and strongest are allowed to breed."

"Cheiron size is not everything when picking a breeding partner." Elaine said continuing the conversation while I was trying to not be noticed and seriously considering calling up a veil. As far as I was concerned this could not get any worse.

"That sounds like a favored response from a loyal mate that secretly is embarrassed when her weaker stallion faces a greater." Cheiron replied. "It does honor to your loyalty to your herd but even you must admit that you secretly long for the greater male to claim you as his own." Yeah for those who may not understand it, the whole 'sensitive guy' movement of the 1980s has not reached the Nevernever centaur population yet.

The bold and obviously unabashed male turned back in my direction. "Young filly, settle this dispute among old friends." He said drawing me back into the conversation. "Rate my stallion qualities and tell us both whether your honest desire would instead be to claim a lesser specimen to breed with and keep your stable warm."

Yeah this so was past what was shown on Animal Planet and from the stance that Cheiron adjusted to once he had me looking at his flank there was little doubt in what I was being asked to judge. Thankfully Elaine came to our rescue at that time with just a hint of a smile at seeing my obvious distress and now fully understanding my situation.

"Cheiron, perhaps another time." She said stroking his arm. "Queen Tatania calls to us and we dare not tarry."

His eyes opened wider. "You are correct Emissary." He said. "Please excuse my distraction we must depart at once!"

Without so much as a 'by your leave' Cheiron slipped behind me and slid his hands under my arms. I had a quick second of panic hoping he had indeed put our previous subject aside as he lifted me from the ground before swinging me up onto the back, sidesaddle no less, of the unicorn who merely looked back patiently as I was deposited on its back.

You may have noticed by my earlier description of the creature that I had not mentioned anything about a saddle or bridle or any means to actually stay on top of the horse-like creature. Furthermore sitting sidesaddle seemed a recipe for falling off after the first two steps. I did get of sense of the power and confidence of the creature however and the fact that my feet swung nearly four feet off the ground as well.

"Hey how am I expected to hold on and not fall riding like this?" I asked my companions as Cheiron bent down a bit again and Elaine slipped onto his back in a more traditional rider's pose except for wrapping her arms around his chest.

"I shall not let you fall Emissary." A soft and unexpected female voice spoke in my mind as the unicorn turned again to look at me over one shoulder and I noticed for the first time the creature had pink eyes. "Sitting like your companion might damage your virtue but I shall not allow you to fall. You may even find the ride oddly enjoyable." She gave me a wink. No really, the horse winked at me like a conspiring sister or something.

"Oh I did not think that you had probably never ridden before." Elaine said. "Maybe we should…"

"No I got this." I said. "The unicorn…"

"YOU MUST NOT TELL THEM I CAN SPEAK!" The female voice spoke once more in my mind both fearful and pleading. "Centaurs think us mere animals for breeding, not knowing we are smarter than their kind. And if a wizard were to understand we knew your language then they might try to seduce us through their magic words. And if one of my kind allows one less than pure to ride upon us then we suffer the Night Mare fate. Please say nothing to them I beg of thee."

"Nightmare?" I asked her in my mind.

"No Night Mare." She corrected. "If one without virtue rides upon us the stain turns our coats black and we are condemned to carry those dreams you speak of as nightmares to the mortals of your world. You call them nightmares because of the ancient association with the fallen of my kind." Her story certainly explained the commonality of the two words.

"Molly?" Elaine asked looking at me. "Are you okay?"

I turned to look at Elaine and I smiled to radiate confidence in her general direction. "Yeah I had a whole Little Engine that Could moment." I lied. "I had to convince myself I can do this. So what are we waiting for?"

Elaine shrugged and turned back to Cheiron. "Take us to the Queen." She said and he was off from a walk to full out gallop in just a few steps leaving us behind.

"Thank you for that service Molly." The unicorn said as it began to walk as well and I started to get accustomed to its pace as she slowly sped up. Her motions created an odd sort of pleasurable vibration between us as she moved but it also seemed to link us stronger in thoughts. Each time my body shifted a bit, so too did the unicorn to keep me perfectly balanced without a chance of slipping from her back.

"Do you have a name?" I asked in my mind once I got used to the fact that we were running so fast that the ground around us was flashing by in a blur. I found it easier to just close my eyes, enjoy the rhythmic sensation, and not worry about the fact that if I did fall off I was going to break neck not just my 'virtue.'

"I do indeed." She said. "Among my kind I am called 'Nectar of the Buzzing Ones." She said.

Maybe it was the fact that this was a telepathic conversation but her description made me instantly understand what she was talking about even if her words did not. "Oh… you mean Honey." I said with a warm smile that radiated all though me and my thoughts.

"Honey…yes... that sounds lovely. Thank you." She said. "If I am not being rude, you are far different from what I was led to believe about those aligned with the Unseelie. You do not seem to have their temperament toward violence and domination."

"It is my master Harry who has alignment with Winter, and even that is only a reluctant one." I explained. "He was unavailable so I took this task upon myself in his absence."

Honey nearly staggered. "You would align yourself to Winter out of love for your master?" She asked me with obvious incredulity in her telepathic voice. I guess love and Winter did not easily coexist in her mind.

"Not sure I'd say love, or at least I'd clarify the type of love." I said back. In truth what I felt for Harry was really confusing to me so it was not something I wanted to sort out in my head while riding at breakneck speed on the back of a unicorn.

"Of course, you would not be able to ride me if it were _that_ kind of love." Honey teased.

I blushed in my mind, which until that point I did not know I could do. "No, what I'm trying to say is when I needed Harry he came to the Nevernever and even trashed Mab's castle to save me. It seems like I owed him a favor or two for doing that so I accepted this charge for him."

"You master is the Wizard Harry Dresden?" She asked me again in seeming shock and awe.

"Yep, it's Harry." I answered. "Let me guess, you know him?" Everyone seems to know Harry. Not bad for starting out as a small advertisement in the Chicago yellow pages.

"All of Summer has heard of the one who dared to use our power in the Heart of Winter." She said with shock. I could literally feel the wheels of her mind spinning at this new revelation.

"Molly you know that there are rules in making deals between our kind and yours, correct?" Honey said hesitantly.

"Sure." I replied. "Harry told me never accept anything from the Faerie as it places us under obligation." I explained. "That is except if we have negotiated a price for service in advance."

"Exactly so." She agreed and I could sense with my eyes closed she even nodded. "I wish to provide you information, in part as an honor to your master for the blow he struck but also in part because I fear you shall require it. But to do so and not raise a debt between us I must balance the scale. If you promise to answer a question for me I shall give you information you will require." She said and as this conversation was taking place in her mind I had the sense there was no hidden deception only that she was bound by the very rules of protocol that she claimed to be.

"Okay. Providing the question is nothing granting power over me such as asking my truename." I replied.

"I agree to those terms." She said and drew a mental breath to prepare for our conversation to come. "Since few beyond our kind know we can understand the languages of those around us, no one takes caution to avoid our hearing. In this way we learn of things that only those in the highest regard of the court, those like Cheiron, are told about." She explained and this of course made sense to me.

It also made me realize things were probably worse than I had been led to believe, though I doubted Elaine knew more than what she had told me so far since she was hardly a member of the Summer Court. Something big was happening and since I paid for it I might as well get my information. "Okay, so what do you need to tell me?"

"The Emissaries have been called because Summer seeks justification to strike before Winter can unleash a blow upon us at the height of their power." Honey explained not only confirming what Elaine had already told me but doing so in a way that emotionally indicated that yes things were even worse than I had imagined when I accepted this mission.

"The new Lady Summer and Summer Knight lie near death and none of the Court believes they shall recover." Honey explained making me open my eyes in shock. I knew both of these two were friends of Harry's which made this whole mission even more personal to him and therefore made it even more important to me.

"It must have been something pretty big to lay out two of the most powerful beings in the Summer Court." I said. "That can hardly have been subtle."

"That is what Abagalesidhe and most of the Court believes as well which is why they push for war." Honey replied. "But Queen Tatania remembers she was manipulated into the last war by the former Summer Lady Aurora so fears a repeat of this. But she also cannot ignore that in less than a month's time Winter will be at the height of their power and with two of the strongest members of her court laid low, the forces of the Unseelie will destroy us. In fact, many of our traditional and most loyal allies among the Wildfae have already gone into hiding. It is suspected that with this subtle shift of power they have somehow learned of events and gone over to Winter's Court to be on the winning side of the coming war."

Well that's not good. Summer has lost not only two of its most capable generals but a significant portion of their most promising armies had also fled to their opponents. No wonder there were those in the Summer Court demanding an immediate war. If this process of swapping allegiances continued and went unchecked by the time of winter solstice Mab's forces would not even need to fight. They could just stroll on it and take the keys to the front door. This really was a Harry situation and not a Molly situation.

"Do you have any idea who is behind this?" I asked. "Could it be an insider working to set you off to war again like Lady Aurora and the Winter Knight attempted?"

"All the court assumes that only Mab has the power and cunning to take down two of Summer's most powerful. Maeve lacks the subtlety for such a blow or the ability to hide it." Honey replied. "Lady Tatania, especially after that event with Aurora, would have sensed if someone wielding Summer's power had struck such a blow against the new Lady and Knight. You are here to serve as an irrefutable demonstration that Winter's power, and therefore Mab, was behind this action so the Summer Queen will agree to immediate war."

Okay this is really getting over my head. I was merely supposed to bear witness now I'm being told that the decision to go to war or not, which of course meant a potential ice age back on Earth, rested on my shoulders? I was way in over my head, and while Uriel may have suggested this was something I was capable of dealing with, I have a feeling he had mistaken me for some other perky wizard apprentice who actually had the power of the Merlin at her disposal, not some minor sensitive magic-based girl just out of her teens.

"Thank you Honey." I said as I really did not know what else to say after all of this.

"You are welcome Emissary of Winter." She replied. "Take from my mane a single strand of hair and tie it upon your ring finger. If you have need of me, and of course remain chaste at the time, break the strand and wherever you are in the Nevernever I will come to your aid."

I started to do as she requested and then realized this was another gift and that if I accepted I would be under obligation. "What about a service for a service?" I asked her.

"The question I am to ask you means more to me and has been important for far longer than what I have provided you thus far. In fact you would likely learn it all on your own soon. I merely have allowed you time to better prepare." She explained. "In my own heart this second service will balance the scales between us." She said.

I nodded and did as she asked while she continued to eat up the distance toward our eventual destination. I could see Cheiron and Elaine still many yards ahead and that Honey seemed to be keeping the distance between us on purpose though I could sense had she the mind to she would easily pass the centaur. But they were so wrapped up in their own conversation that I turned back to Honey.

"Okay what is your question?" I said hoping it was not something highly technical or require some demonstration of magic because I was feeling a little bit overwhelmed at the moment.

"As you know, very few of your kind are allowed to ride us and therefore speak to us." She said as way of an introduction. "And even more so it has been many of your lifetimes since the last of us allowed a human rider so our sources of information are both limited and dated."

Yeah she was really trying to place a lot of qualifiers on whatever the question was that was coming. "Yeah, okay…so what is your question?" I asked again.

"I know you do not have firsthand experience, but you have friends I assume." She paused and then finally just blurted it out. "What is it like to be able to face your partner when you mate?"

It took all of Honey's ability to keep me from falling off her back in total shock.

We arrived at the Summer Court's palace and I could sense that like Arctis Tor had been to Mab, this was the center of Queen Tatania's power as well. This power seemed to thrum in the very air around me full of life and light. But as a mage attuned to emotions I also felt the subtle tension, fear, and anger that was centered here as well; a trinity of emotions that when combined never led anywhere good in my opinion.

I slipped off of Honey's back and she smiled and winked at me before galloping off. If I had found her initial question awkward that was nothing compared to the follow up expansions for clarification and ones of actually describing what I had heard of certain techniques that left me both flushed and dazed. In the end to fully uphold my part of the bargain we agreed that I would get a subscription to Cosmopolitan and leave it at Harry's place and she would arrange for faeries to deliver it to her so she could stay up to date on the latest trends. It was without a doubt one of the most disturbing conversations I've ever had.

Elaine slipped off Cheiron's back as well and stood beside me as the big centaur watched Honey run away. He seemed to sniff the air and hold a look of regret as she ran off even faster than we had gotten here. "I scent she had come into season. Tis a pity she chose to ride off. I would like to have added her to my herd." He said without caring who heard. I could tell from his voice and the uncomfortable shifting he was doing just what 'season' he was speaking of and before I was forced to make the judgment he had asked of me earlier I whisked Elaine away by the arm and headed toward the troop of Summer's soldiers, elven types by their look, coming toward us.

"Welcome to Summer Court emissaries." The leader of the squad said to us with a perfunctory bow. "If you will follow me I will take you straight to the Queen." The request to follow was pretty much a misnomer if you consider the ten soldiers with him suddenly shifted ranks to surround us on all sides as we were led into the castle. I did note those closest to me kept their hands on their weapons but this was not so for those on Elaine's side. I chose to take this as a compliment.

While a vine encrusted castle seemed natural for this environment, it was not until we got closer that I saw the vines were the actual wall and that no stones existed behind them for these to cling to. In fact the entire castle was made from living plants and it had no ceilings anywhere to obstruct the sun's light. I suspect this was as 'green' a house as possible.

We were led directly through the central courtyard where more troops of elven soldiers practiced with weapons and by the serious looks upon their faces I could tell they expected to be using these skills in the coming days. The scowls in my direction were just barely deflected enough to meet the standards of decorum.

The troop stooped outside a pair of towering doors made from hedges. The leader of the troop looked to Elaine and myself begrudgingly before speaking. "By the Queen's orders only those of the High Court and ones who are directly summoned by the Queen or her Warlord, such as yourselves, may now enter the throne room." The troop stepped to the side, half to each wall and turned their backs toward the hedge so not to inadvertently see into the room when the doors opened. The commander placed his hand upon the hedge, whispered a word of magic, and as the plants began to untangle for him he too spun around so he would not be looking in.

When the passage in through the hedge opened wide enough for us to pass, Elaine and I tromped through. I let her go first since I did not want anyone inside seeing the emissary of their enemy first. Hopefully Elaine's presence would keep in check any blasts of magic someone might desire to fire in my general direction.

There were only five of the members of the High Summer Court within the spacious room that served as the center of Queen Tatania's power. It was easily an acre in size and tables had been laid out in areas to the left and the right to support a banquet that appeared to have never taken place. The central area down which we walked toward the queen who sat awaiting us on her thrown was likely to have been where dances of celebration took place. Therefore the somberness of the scene combined with this sullenness of the attendees washed over me and made me uneasy.

As we approached the only standing male, a rather regal looking elf of ancient stature called forth "The Emissaries of Summer and Winter Courts" in a voice loud enough to have carried to all parts of the room had the banquet been taking place. I guess some people just took their job very seriously. After his announcement though, he seemed to pay us no further mind. It was two of the others who held our attention.

Other than the herald and of course the Summer Queen, the Summer Lady and Knight lay in near repose within two glass biers to the right of the raised throne. Only by close examination could one see that their chests still rose slightly though in seeming strain as well. As Honey had said, they were not dead yet, but their time was likely running out.

The last member of the High Court I took to be the current Warlord from the way the troop commander had described events, but suddenly did not know if that term was correct for a female in the post. Was there such a thing as a Warlady? I figure I would stick with warlord and be corrected at the proper time and place later.

Elaine came up and bowed to one knee before the queen and I took that as a good idea and did the same feeling a wave of sudden confusion and anger aimed in my direction.

"This is not Harry Dresden!" The warlord screeched and suddenly I found the tip of a lance aimed inches from the center of my eyes. It was hard not to notice that besides its rather obvious razor sharp point, the tip crackled and sparked with magical electricity. Tearing my eyes away from that and looking along the length to the holder did not make me feel any safer as seething hatred boiled in the grey storming eyes beneath the helmet and focused solely right at me.

"Be at ease Abagalesidhe." Queen Tatania ordered. "Let our own emissary explain the Agent of Winter she has brought to our court and then we can decide if her death is warranted."

Oh great it was up to Elaine to keep me from death row. Maybe I should have been a little nicer to her. Yeah, and I guess that whole sword thing to the side of her head I should have apologized for before now. I mean it can't really hurt too much right? Isn't the rule the bigger the bruise the less that you feel it? I mean she should not even know that one is there.

"Queen Tatania I perform this service for you in the name of debt owed to your handmaiden." Elaine said ensuring her dealings with the Faerie Court were understood up front to be a defined service and not a freebie. "As your messenger directed I sought out the Winter Emissary but found he was not in residence."

"So you brought this practitioner of evil who seeks to catch Mab's favor by performing a service for which she was not requested?" Abagale charged while looking upon me with disgust. The sparks on the end of her lance grew even larger and more frightening. "We should kill her outright for daring to consider an alliance with our enemies."

"No my lady there is more you should consider." Elaine contradicted her pseudo godmother drawing her wrath-filled glare unto herself. "Molly is the apprentice to the true Winter Emissary and has agreed to take upon herself his burden for this day in an effort to ferret out the truth of these events. Your missive said that you required a mortal emissary from the Unseelie and that time was of the essence if war was to be avoided. Molly represents the only option to meet these dual needs unless you turn from this course or wish to delay actions further until we can locate Harry Dresden."

That was a very effective counterpoint that Elaine laid before the queen. If the Summer Court decided to reject me, or even kill me, then whatever justice and justification they sought to prove in this war would not exist. Those of the Wildfae who might be swayed by a persuasive argument of self-defense could now remain neutral or at worst join Winter's forces saying that Summer's actions were the ones that were out of line.

On the other hand if Summer dared to wait in order to find Harry to get him to perform in this role then that additional delay would mean less time to rally the forces to their banner if their assumptions of Winter's involvement eventually proved to be true. That delay would likely still hand Mab a victory if she were indeed behind these events.

It was obvious from the silence that the Queen and her handmaiden had come to the same conclusion quickly as well. No one said that the Fae were stupid. For his part the herald merely recorded these events and declined to speak or show any emotion that might offer which way his thought lay on this issue.

"What then is the option you offer Emissary?" Queen Tatania asked Elaine.

"My Queen, if you choose to recognize Molly as a rightful heir to Harry in this action and honor her authority just as the Lady and Knight of Summer act in your stead then you will have shown a willingness to seek justice." Elaine explained while we all listened to her logic. "If we find evidence of Winter's influence in these events then those who sit on the sidelines will look favorably upon our claim. Also, if Mab chooses to deny Molly this role, again it will look to others as if Winter seeks to deceive." She continued obviously having worked this all out herself beforehand.

"In essence my queen you lose nothing by accepting Molly's authority and gain everything if Mab refuses to do the same." No lose situations appeal to everyone including immortals and I could see the logic of the proposition brought a smile to the face of Queen Tatania. Abagale, however, kept her scowl in place, making her a seemingly perfect warlord.

"You have a delightfully devious mind Elaine." Queen Tatania complimented her. "It is a pity you have no Fae blood in you for you would make an excellent choice for the Lady of Summer if I must fill the position soon again as it appears I likely will." Abagalesidhe grimaced at this apparent compliment. It was obvious she did not hold mortals in an equally high regard as did her queen.

"I learned from your Court's teachings my lady." Elaine bowed. "Your compliment is appreciated but I believe you handmaiden to be far more deserving of this honor than one such as I. And since I have no Fae blood, she is twice the better choice."

"I suspect you are correct." Queen Tatania replied. "But remember that the role of Summer Knight had no such requirement. In fact it is a role traditionally offered to a mortal to act as our agent. And unfortunately it too seems to be a position soon to become vacant once more."

"From the wording of your summons I suspect that all is not yet lost. Let us focus our efforts there first and speak of the future when it is better understood." Elaine said obviously not wanting to discuss this more as it would forever solidify her servitude to the Summer Court.

Queen Tatania smiled as if she knew exactly what Elaine was thinking, which I had no doubt she did, and then nodded. "Of course you are correct my dear. Please Emissaries follow me." She said and walked from her throne, not to the glass biers but instead to a table right near the throne that was laid out with a partially finished meal.

I gave Abagalesidhe a pleading look and an 'uum' to remind her the queen had directed me to follow. It took strong will for her to pull the lance point away from my face before allowing me to proceed and following closely in my wake. I could sense from her emotions without even having to look back that the tip was pointed now at my spine right around the area of my heart. I just hoped she did not have any trouble braking while holding the stupid thing or I was about to become a big kabob.

"As you are no doubt aware it takes great force or great treachery to bring down a Queen or a Knight of the Sidhe." Queen Tatania explained. "As a tribute to the pair for the assistance they have performed for me since assuming their offices I ordered a banquet and festival prepared in their honor. I even ordered delicacies from the mortal world where they lived for so long brought here to be prepared by a mortal chef in my employ for their enjoyment."

"As you may know the two share a closer bond than any Knight and Lady before them and so this dinner was accepted as a romantic interlude in preparation for the true festival to be held starting today." Queen Tatania continued. "We gave them their privacy but found early this morning that they both lay slumped near death, their magic the only thing keeping them alive from whatever struck them down. And I can feel that even this is slowly draining away. They have a few days at most before they will die. And when they do there must be war!"

I had no doubt that the Queen spoke the truth. Either Summer would attack for vengeance, or Winter sensing or having caused the weakness would do so. Either way many would die and the turmoil would spill over into my own world as well. "What exactly are your expecting of us?" I asked sensing that time was indeed pressing.

Queen Tatania looked at me perhaps not please to have been interrupted but at least acknowledging the need for haste.

"As I said only great force or great treachery could take down a pair from my court so efficiently. As you can see there is no sign of force." I admitted that appeared true for none of the thin stemmed glasses on the table had even fallen over nor had a drop of wine or morsel of food dropped off a plate. I knew Harry could throw down some pretty powerful magic if he needed to, but there is no way he could do so without some of it leaking out and at least messing up the table cloth.

"So you suspect treachery." I interrupted again. "Perhaps poison?" I asked.

"I see you have an understanding of the tools of the Unseelie." Abagale said from behind me in mockery and disgust. "Perhaps you are more of a perfect agent for them than you first appeared."

"Actually I read a lot of Edgar Allen Poe and Sherlock Holmes." I said in response without looking her way.

"Indeed Winter Emissary." Queen Tatania interrupted and reclaimed her position with a flash in her eyes warning us both to stop taunting each other. If the time came to kill I had no doubt she would let Abagale skewer me but for now I was still useful.

"You are partially correct." The Queen said to me. "Poison would perhaps disable these pair since they had been born only partial-sidhe rather than fully of the blood. No mortal toxin or venom could do this to a true Seelie." She seemed confident in this assessment.

"The other more likely possibility is that they digested something infused with the power of Winter and it is slowly killing them from the inside." She explained. I thought about what I had done with my token to the grassy area and how it had turned things black. If such a battle were taking place within the bodies of the pair of High Sidhe then I could believe they were likely to die as well.

"What do you expect from us my Queen?" Elaine asked acknowledging her allegiance in this matter.

Queen Tatania looked at her. "We need the pair of you to test these theories and determine if either of these is true. If they are…" She left the words hang there but left little doubt in my own mind.

"How do we detect for poison?" I asked thinking that Butters would be a big help right now. That is if Crystal had not inadvertently killed him by now. The thought brought an odd smile to my face.

"Does the idea of poison make you so joyful creature of Winter?" Abagale asked me catching my smile and misinterpreting it. She glared at me and I knew my own explanations would not make things any better.

"Molly have you ever tested something for magical residue?" Elaine asked me in order to get us out of this awkward situation.

"Sure." I replied.

"Well it is like that only instead of feeling for the warm trickle of magic you have to feel instead for something dark, cold, and deadly." She explained. "I will try first but regardless of whether I sense something or not, you will have to cast the spell as well. We both must come to agreement if our judgment is to be considered lawful as true emissaries of our respective courts."

I merely nodded at this and watched as Elaine gathered magic from the world around us, sort of like gathering liquid while treading water, and then cast the spell upon the entire table like she was laying a thin sheet over the entire meal. Having sensitivity to magic and now seeing how she had done a spell that was very similar to one I myself had cast before I had no problem replicating the process, though my own sheet had a few wrinkles in it compared to hers. It did not matter for it still covered the entire table.

Those spells completed and having made our evaluation we both looked to each other and nodded we had our answers. "My Queen I did not sense any poisons." Elaine said.

"And agent of Winter?" She asked. "What say you?"

"Me either." I said honestly.

"Then the power of Winter must be in the very food." Abagale swore. "Let us perform the second test and prove or disprove it." She looked at me with an odd look of satisfaction on her face.

"What second test?" Elaine asked. "Are we to sense the meal for magic as well?"

"That won't work." I interrupted. "This whole place radiates magic. There is no way one could tell if the food was the source or the surrounding area just leaked into it." I explained.

"You are very wise for one so young." Queen Tatania complimented me and seemed to be reevaluating her estimation of my worth. "As you are correct there can be only one way to find the truth. You must each eat from the foods collected here. Agent of Winter if Unseelie magic is indeed involved then the token you wear will protect you. My own emissary however has no such protections and will likely be struck down just as the Lady and Knight were." She explained.

"Wait a minute." I said in shock. "You would poison your own emissary to prove treachery?"

"There is no other way and still maintain the balance between the courts." The queen replied. "I must make the same offer or those who judge my actions may find justice was not served."

"Then I won't do it." I said. "I will not put Elaine's life in danger just to prove a point."

"The choice is not yours to make." Tatania countered. "She owes debt to the court and I can so order her to do this whether you eat of it or not. She may still die. You holding back your own action merely makes her sacrifice for naught. If you truly want to find justice you will eat for only through this can we expose the truth of what has taken place."

Damn, okay so I really did not have a choice. The only thing I had to bargain with was withholding my own action which placed the results in doubt. That hardly was much but all I had. Surprisingly the answer to my dilemma came from an unsuspected quarter.

"My Queen if the Winter Emissary would allow we could substitute another of our kind in place of the Emissary." Abagalesidhe spoke up. "If Winter magic is indeed involved we would still prove this and meet the Winter Agent's request while protecting our own valuable resource." Yeah but what about the poor stiff selected as food tester I thought to myself.

"Herald, what say you?" The queen asked.

"If the Winter Agent agrees to the change then the balance remains." He said without pause.

"I still won't do it." I said defiantly.

"It is now your choice child." Abagaleside said sweetly dripping with undisguised malice. "We will command one or the other to eat the food. If you do not agree to the deal you offered then it shall be your friend Elaine who shall be forced to eat. If you do we shall select one from our dungeons who has violated laws to do so in her place. That should appeal to your sense of misplaced justice."

I also realized that if Elaine was the one to eat and it did take her down, I was not only trapped in the Nevernever, but I was an agent of Winter caught in the very heart of Summer's power. This was not the best place for a perky wizard apprentice to be. That reality pretty much made my decision up for me before I spent any more time on it.

"You have a deal." I said in resignation.

Queen Tatania looked to the hedge wall through which we had come though and it opened once more at her unspoken command. I could sense her magic of course and I suddenly got a mere hint of how truly powerful she was. "Bring Colineus from the prisons here to me." She commanded and without looking back I watched the troop of guards immediately march off to obey her orders.

This issue still disturbed me though and I had to try and appease my conscience. "Queen Tatania, may I know this one's crimes so in my heart I will not feel like I have condemned an innocent."

"Is that truly so important to you?" She asked shocked.

"It is."

She nodded her head once more evaluating me again. "Colineus was caught sneaking weapons from your world, I believe you call them 'arms of fire,' into our own." She replied. "Not only would these upset the very balance of power, but they were made from iron as the base metal which is death to our kind. His punishment was to be a rather horrible execution from the Summer Knight acting as my agent in this. It seems what you have offered him is at worst a much easier final moment. In fact you have even granted him a last meal as well."

"If he survives will you set him free?" I asked.

"Do not push me child." Queen Tatania responded. "My tolerance of you has its limits."

Colineus was tossed gracelessly through the hedge after a few minutes and I could see his half goat body, he was a satyr by definition, looked like he had been subject to tortures during his imprisonment was well. His shackles made anything but six inch steps impossible and Abagale's lance was enough of a motivator to bring him to the table. Up close I could see the tortures inflicted upon him here even more intense. The most disturbing being how his tongue had been sliced neatly right down the middle.

"Agent of Winter if you will proceed." The queen requested and I turned to look more closely at the banquet table lain out before me. It was a full seven course meal of earthly delicacies and I could see why they would be such a treat for the former half-sidhe.

A fancy meal is known as going from soup, the first course, to nuts, the final course. Of course there were some basic variations on this theme but generally the whole meal had been placed here before me. It had started with a broccoli and cheese soup, a little thicker than normal because it had been allowed to grow cold, and then an appetizer of some kind of pate which I was not thrilled with but choked down on a cracker anyway. The main course was fruit and vegetables, since the Seelie did not eat meat I learned; ripe cantaloupe, more broccoli, and parsley potatoes. Dessert was vine ripened strawberries in a thick black molasses that was so sweet I expected my teeth to fall out of my mouth. And finally, in substitution for the nuts, likely due to the time of season back in Chicago, the final item was salted and fried pumpkin seeds which I always loved.

I ate from each course and true to the claim I felt no ill effect, well with the exception of the pate which as I said I am no fan of. Satisfied that I had done my duty Abagale prodded the satyr forward to follow my path as well so there would be no variation. I suspect the poor creature had been starved so he took to the food like, well like a billy goat. By the end there was nothing left on the table though he was obviously looking and hoping for more.

"It appears you were incorrect." I said with just a hint of smugness in my voice.

Of course it was while those words were hanging in the air that the satyr gave out a choked bleat and fell to the ground holding his throat. By the time Elaine and I reached him he was unconscious and barely breathing also. Well I called that one wrong it seems.

"You knew this ahead of time. How did you know?" I said turning to Abagale who had undoubtedly saved Elaine's life by her quick thinking.

"Because child I was the first to question the cook." She said. "Unfortunately he was more fragile than I realized. You mortals are always that way and I often forget that. But after his death I searched his body and found this." She said pulling forth and object from under her armor and holding it out for me to see. It was an icicle that looked exactly like the once pinned to my own chest.

I did not know what to say but Abagale took that need away from me. "The pathways to Winter are from this moment closed by order of the Warlord of Summer." Abagale spoke aloud to no one present in particular and I sensed from the magic in her words everyone in the lands of Summer had heard this proclamation.

She turned to look at Elaine and I. "In accordance with the Accords you will be provided transportation back to your arrival point and allowed to depart. War is coming Agent of Winter. You would be well advised to stay clear of these events." She said making her threat well understood.

Elaine merely bowed and pulled me down as well to tell me that speaking further would only get us in trouble. I took her advice for once and bit back my own reply. We beat a hasty retreat and almost made it to the hedge path when her voice called out after us.

"It seems I have saved your life again Elaine." Abagalesidhe spoke. "This time I judge a single future service is all you must pay me for the privilege of extending your existence."

Elaine said nothing but hurried on through with me in tow. But even silent I could still feel the overwhelming despair wracking her body.


	7. Chapter 7

**Semper Fidelis **

**_Chapter 7_**

My Mustang roared as I pulled it into the driveway of my family's house and turned off the engine. I was a little later than I had promised mom I would be but surprisingly not by too much that would not be written off as traffic. Of course by this time all my brothers and sisters had left for school and my mom was just coming out the door with Little Harry in tow. She looked up to see me and smiled, I mean really smiled, at seeing me here even if I could tell she did not approve of my general appearance. Of course being my mom that smile was quickly hidden away by a neutral scowl.

"You look…" She began but I held up my hand to cut her off before she finished whatever she was going to say.

"Please mom." I said. "Not right now. I am tired and don't want to argue with you about my wardrobe or my hair again."

"I was going to say 'tired' Molly but if you prefer to discuss you appearance instead…" She replied obviously undaunted by me. "Unfortunately though I have to drop your brother off at kindergarten and then get to the hospital to see your father. He called this morning and sounded more awake than usual so I want to get to him before he falls back to sleep."

"Okay I am going to catch a quick catnap until noon or so and then I will be over there to relieve you." I said nodding and thankful that this potential for another argument between us was not going to happen it seemed. After seeing the Faeries gearing up for war and the feeling the tension in the air because of it I had my current fill of conflict for the moment.

She noted this too as I rarely backed off from challenging her these days and my actions drew her up short making her suspect I was hiding something. "Molly is there something wrong?" She asked. "You are not involved in anything dangerous are you?" Since my powers had manifested, and especially the way this had taken place, me being involved in something dangerous, meaning magical, was my mother's constant guilt-ridden concern.

I wanted to ask her 'You mean beyond the fact that the Winter Court is about to attack the forces of Summer and plunge us into the next ice age mom?' However, I merely thought to myself instead of actually asking aloud. But my mother is no fool and knew there was something in my look and my exhaustion that said her firstborn was involved in something and by the divine rules of the eternal umbilical cord that meant it was something she felt she had a right to know about. And as I said being as tired as I was I really did not want to go toe to toe with her right now. I sighed in a show of actual exhaustion and gave her a quick answer.

"Harry's medical examiner friend called to see if Chicago's resident wizard could come by and explain the cause of death behind a corpse the city had recovered. I went in his place since Harry is out of town. The body ended up being nothing more than a bag of skin and bones." I said while almost but not quite looking my mom in the eyes. Not quite in order to prevent initiating an unwanted soulgaze but still close enough to show I was not trying to hide the details of what I was speaking of. Okay it was not all that happened last night for me, but it was not a lie either. "After seeing the body I went back to Harry's place and tried to research what could have killed him or her by looking through the reference books he has and see if I could find anything out for Harry's friend to close the case."

"You are not planning to go out monster hunting like your father and Mr. Dresden like to do are you dear?" She asked in a way that another mother might ask her daughter if she was hanging out with the wrong type of friends at school. The comparable absurdity of this question in its tone to the 'real world' my friends lived with made me laugh and almost react with a pithy response come back aimed at her.

Then I had the sobering thought of the dead yeti outside Harry's door and the level of killing force it would have taken to slaughter such a creature and I quickly sobered back up. "No mother." I said with complete honesty. "Whatever is responsible for the killing it is not something I have any desire or the power to cross paths with. I merely promised Harry's friend Butters that I would see if I could turn anything up in Harry's books and pass this issue along to Harry also when he came back. That is where my role ends."

I could feel it as she used her mom's inherent superpower ability to detect falsehood by her glare at me but I was too tired to be defiant and try to resist it. In the end this worked in my favor I guess as she accepted my story. "Alright dear, though I think it is only fair to say there are two wizards protecting Chicago now." She said surprising me with this unexpected compliment and giving me a kiss on the forehead while I was too stunned from her praise. "Go get some rest. I love you and will see you at the hospital at three or so."

I merely nodded as I was still in shock and headed for the front door until little Harry called to me. "Molly I have another picture for you." He said proudly waving a crayon colored in drawing pulled free from yet another of his coloring books that he now held out to me. That little smiling face of his is really too cute to resist so I found the energy to turn around, trod back to him, and take the latest of his artworks he made for me.

This one appeared to be from Snow White or Sleeping Beauty or one of the other princesses versus the dominating matron figures movies. The irony of that comparison to me and my mother struck a naughty chord in me. It took all of my will not to glance at my mom and made a suggestive jibe about life imitating art, even if the art in question was created by Walt Disney.

I did note however that unlike his earlier pictures this one had the evil queen with the white hair like mine and the young princess's curls were instead black. "Hey munchkin I thought I was the princess in your drawings. Why does she have the dark hair and the old evil one have my hair?" I said pointing to the picture with a smile.

"You are the princess Molly." He said smiling and gave me a big hug. I had to admit I really needed that feeling of unconditional love right then. As he squeezed be around the middle he continued in his squeaky voice. "You are my hero Molly. You will make it all better." He then let me go and climbed into his car seat in the van and mom buckled him in. I meanwhile turned to go to the house before either of them could see the tears now forming in my eyes from the little rug rat's comments.

I almost made it when mom's annoyingly cheerful voice called out to me. "Molly it could be that Little Harry sees your hair has grown out a little darker and realizes like we all do it is now making you look like some sort of weird human daisy hybrid." She smiled and backed out of the driveway rolling the automatic window in the van back up before I could ask her then just who she though Little Harry was casting as the evil queen in his artwork then. Oh well that was probably for the better.

I entered the house and then closed and locked the door behind me feeling somewhat comforted behind our family threshold that I knew was strengthened by all the love in the world…which was all held in one very good man's heart. I turned to head to my bedroom up two flights of stairs and accidentally out of the corner of my eye caught my image in the full length mirror. I noted, with no little annoyance I might add, that my mother was of course correct about the way my naturally blond hair was almost an inch of my roots right now. I certainly had to update my dye job immediately or end up with the nickname daisy around the house thanks to my mom. Well that was another of those tasks for this afternoon I guessed. Won't mom love it when I stroll in with bright green hair!

Hours later an incessant booming drew me back out of sleep and into semi consciousness and I rolled over, buried my head under a pillow, and hoped it would go away. But after a moment of silence it just began again, and if anything, grew even louder this time. One of my eyes opened and focused on the old clock that was operated by weights rather than electricity that dad had found in an antique shop on one of his recent travels, repaired, and placed in my room for me. Its Bavarian face informed me I had at least thirty more minutes to sleep but that annoying pounding I now recognized as someone at my family's front door told me that returning to sleep was likely not going to happen this morning. So I slipped on my pink fuzzy robe and matching slippers and stumbled my way downstairs.

"What?" I yelled through the door just as I grabbed the knob and yanked it open making no effort to hide that I had been asleep and whoever was pounding on the door had disturbed that. Had the intruder been a pair of hot male strippers sent by friends to shower me in chocolates and foot massages while they danced around in thongs, I might, just might, not kill them and whoever had sent them in a horrible manner. But it was neither an oiled Chip nor Dale at my door but was instead some middle aged pencil shaped looking fellow who wore wire glasses on the end of his nose and looked at my fuzzy robe and slippers with a raised eyebrow of disapproval.

"I am confirming that this is indeed the Michael Carpenter and family residence?" He asked even though our mailbox out by the street and a sign on our front door proudly proclaimed it to be. I guess reading was not enough and he needed a verbal confirmation.

"It is." I said not opening the door further and certainly not appearing the least bit interested in whatever he had to say or sell.

"I am from Brooks Brothers' collection agency and I have been sent here about a significant balance of payment required for recent medical bills for the aforementioned Mr. Michael Carpenter." He said looking at the form even though I could tell he had his little speech memorized from saying it over and over. I knew this because nobody uses the word aforementioned in a sentence that has not been previously prepared.

"Your insurance company immediately referred this issue to my own company with a note that their policy does not cover health–related issues caused by suspected or confirmed criminal activity." He said with obvious distaste and a look that dared me to deny this accusation. I assume he had been briefed on the extent and type of injuries my father had sustained and these were not something that just happened to everyday people. The insurance company did not care as long as it meant they could get away without paying for the results.

"That's my dad." I said realizing that there was no point in arguing with this guy since the deck was stacked against us.

"Very good." He nodded and handed me a crisp letter not in an envelope. "Our office number is on the top of the page." He pointed to it as if I would somehow overlook the red raised corporate logo; red being the color for conflict. "We will expect first installment from your family by the end of the week as proof of your ability to pay or we will be forced to seek alternate legal methods of collection." By which I knew he meant his collection agency would see us in court.

It was of course a perfect threat. When a family's resources are stretched too thin to pay medical bills the thought of adding legal fees to the mix is not particularly attractive to consider. If such payments are beyond their ability to pay court will become inevitable so they might as well get to it before the family declares bankruptcy.

Chicago's own organized crime boss Gentleman John Marcone would likely have sent someone who looked like his bodyguard Hendricks, six foot something in height, red buzz cut hair, three hundred pounds of muscle, and no neck, to ask for such a payment from those who played on the shady side of Chicago. In his own way, Mr. Pencilneck here with his casual reference to lawyers was equally as scary as to law abiding people in my family's situation Hendricks would be to those in the underworld.

Seeing that I was not going to put up any fuss and so without a further word Mr. Pencilneck turned and left me standing at the door with his letter to get into his car. I noted annoying that it was an upper scale Infinity Class car no less and therefore made my beautiful Mustang look cheap by comparison. He looked even more smug as he casually backed out of our driveway and onto the street out front.

I looked down at the bottom of the paper resting in my hands and noticed the amount due in one week line he had spoken of and that it had four zeroes in the number, and none of these were to the right of the decimal point! And then I noted it was not listed as the 'total due' only what was currently due up until a week or so ago and this made me less than happy. So much so I could feel the magic building up in me.

I blame my next actions on Mr. Pencilneck for his jovial final toot toot of his horn and superior looking wave at me as he started to drive off for what occurred next. The Infinity was maybe a hundred feet away when my hand came up seemingly of its own accord and pointed to the brilliant silver sheen of the car reflecting early winter sunlight and my mouth somehow spat the word _'Hexus'_ in his direction without me willing it. Well at least that is the story I am planning on sticking with if Harry ever finds out.

You know the old war movies where the enemy plane begins streaming smoke and then fades off camera? I can only say such a scene is even more satisfying when you get to see a fifty thousand dollar car do the same thing as it turns a corner and dies with a fulfilling 'bang' out of sight. Was I being petty in this action? Yeah maybe I was. But for the amount listed on the bill it was worth this small, personal satisfaction since the car was still likely under warranty anyway.

That moment of instant gratification faded quickly as I looked at the bill a second time. There was no way mom and dad had the money for this kind of expense, not with putting six kids through private school and now my dad not able to work for the foreseeable future. There is also no one of repute willing to provide a loan for this kind of money, not when my father's business is less than steady due to his divinely assigned second career. Luckily for me, I say that with just a hint of sarcasm, I have the funds in the form of diamonds to cover just such a situation and the connections, no sarcasm this time, to convert these to the cash I would need to pay the bill.

Well since I was already awake I guess now would be a good time to go ahead and start running these errands down. I realized at that point there seems to be some unwritten universal law that if I do something for Harry, such as check out bodies, solve a case, or visit with the Faire Courts, it impacts my ability to get a reasonable amount of sleep. I am pretty certain this is a major contributing factor to why wizards are often thought of as grumpy. I bet the Merlin is responsible for this.

Lucky for me that unlike in Harry's house, the hot water tank in my parent's was located in the basement and we had a shower dad had installed up on the third floor by my bedroom. This meant that as long as I stayed away from going into the bowels of the house, I could enjoy a hot shower on the upper levels since that only required plumbing and a faucet, two relatively old inventions so not subject to magical breakdown.

I cannot begin to explain how important that is compared to taking a cold shower over at Harry's place when I just woke up. Of course I was still denied modern essentials of female life such as blow driers and curling irons. I can only say that in learning this fact those protected grounding outlets in bathrooms are worth their weight in gold, and since then my hairstyles tended to be designed with these limitations in mind.

I have considered and even tried working up a magical variation of a curling iron and blow drier as a spell but two things have prevented my actual attempt at casting this on myself. First of all Harry has this repetitive statement about how magic is not the solution to every problem. That is okay for him because it's not like he even notices his own hair; I really should look into buying him a hat to go along with his leather duster.

Second though is that my first practice attempt at such a spell was tried out on one of my eight year old sister Hope's dolls. As a result it happens to be the one who used to be named Barbie but now Hope calls Baldy if that gives you any idea of how things worked out. I guess my hairstyling spell is not quite ready for primetime.

During my shower I remembered that I was supposed to meet Karrin for a workout today but that I would have to take a pass at this lesson based upon everything else I had to get done before relieving my mother. Thankfully dad also had found an old telephone for my bedroom so I quickly dialed her cell as I dried off to tell her I was not going to be able to make it today. I was not looking forward to this.

"Murphy." She answered on the third ring with her highly professional and slightly stressed voice that said she was focused on something important. Okay I would keep the call short I guess. All the better for me as far as I was concerned.

"Karrin it's me Molly." I said as an introduction before getting ready to try to get out of a lesson. Karrin took Aikido training very seriously and explained at the beginning of my apprenticeship if I did not have the discipline to attend it was better not to even start as she had no patience for lack of commitment. She was just as hard on romantic relationships too I bet.

"Hey kid glad you got my message." She said making me of course immediately wonder what message she was referring to? I could only assume she left word with Harry's answering machine and thought I was just now calling her back.

"Um…so what's up?" I asked with a natural confusion in my voice that was completely in character based upon these events.

"I have to call off our practice session for today." She said. "Some cop business is taking precedence. I'm sorry and know it is unprofessional but the mayor's office is putting a ton of pressure on the department for this one and they are in turn throwing everything they have at this case." She sounded less than thrilled like this was a waste of her time.

Wow, that sounded to me like the cops in Special Investigations were assigned to support an actual police investigation rather than working merely of the unexplained and 'spooky' cases that normally got dropped in their lap. It also would be a way for Karrin to show her worth to the department that had basically spent the last few years crushing her career slowly and methodically. Of course she would not see it that way because she was too much of a good cop to look for any personal advantage in solving a case. She did it because she had taken an oath to protect and serve the people of Chicago and that is exactly what she was going to do.

"I understand." I said happy to be off the hook myself by her cancelling our training first. "Is there anything I can do to help?" I asked letting my mouth shoot off before my brain warned me that this might be what Uriel was talking about and I may have just stepped into it. After my last innocent missing person case ended up as a sixty year battle against Nazis I was ready for anything and everything to go wrong.

"No kid it is a simple missing celebrity case." She said. "No signs of violence or anything out of the ordinary." Which in her cop lingo meant nothing 'spooky' that would turn it over to a Special Investigations case. That confirmed for me that Murphy was there merely in a supporting role much like the background extras on a movie set. Her job was to demonstrate that the city was taking action based on the number of uniforms and detectives tromping around the crime scene.

"Anyone I know?" I asked merely out of curiosity. I read the gossip rags just like everyone else.

"Jimmy Marteen." She replied. "His agent is making a statement to the press right now."

I recognized the name right off. Jimmy Marteen had becomes Chicago's number one son when he won four figure skating gold medals at last year's Olympics. He had been internationally ranked at the very bottom of the competitive pool and had only made in on the U.S. team because of a pulled hamstring injury to one of the other skaters which had allowed the alternate at the last minute a chance to live his dream of an Olympic performance. His first routine was not even going to be carried because it was due to be performed when the US faced Finland in ice hockey finals. Camera delays however had interrupted that event and left Jimmy as the only show in town at a million dollar a minute event televised event. If there was any example of a come from behind, way way behind, boy making the most out of an unexpected opportunity then Jimmy was most certainly it, or at least that is what his agent had convinced the American public to believe.

His performance had been flawless and better than any of his teammates had ever seen him perform before. Jimmy's life upon taking the first gold had become the center of Olympic stories and nearly a daily column in Chicago's newspapers for the rest of the competition. He acted more like a rock star than an Olympic athlete and attracted vast followings of late teenage girls who the press began to call the Marteen Snow Bunny Club at every one of the remaining events he was supposed to skate at. One Olympic report said this was even scientifically proven since the cheers made after one of his performances were demonstrated to be nearly an entire octave higher in pitch than for any other skater's. Some said it was enough to make dogs how for mercy or to get their owners to change channels.

When he returned to Chicago wearing his four gold medals the city had a 'Welcome Home Jimmy' day party where the mayor gave him the key to the city and Jimmy in turn told the people that he could not have done it without the city's support and that of its wonderful mayor. Polls taken after that event showed a dramatic eleven point increase in the mayor's popularity that he rode successfully into a reelection three weeks ago. So yeah I guess I could understand why this was important to the mayor.

"Wow." I said. "Anything I can do to help? You want a tracking spell?" I asked.

"No thanks kid." Murphy replied. "There is no sign of violence and even though the lead detective on the case is saying all the right things to the press we are pretty certain he is off with half a dozen of his snow bunnies enjoying the fruits of his victory."

That probably grated on Murphy all the more. It's bad enough for a cop like her to have to put aside real police work for show and tell, but to know it's because someone was shacked up making like a rabbit, when you cannot be yourself, was just grating. "Okay Murph but give me a yell at Harry's or my parent's place if you change your mind." I said since the offer would buy me future goodwill on the sparring mat, or at least I had hopes that Karrin would see things that way.

"Okay kid." She replied and hung up.

I got dressed again in jeans and a sweater, fastened the Winter Court icicle pin to the material as I looked in the mirror again. "Yeah I really do need to get to the hairdresser today." I said not at all pleased with my current color and style.

I threw my heavy coat over the top, made sure I had my shield bracelet and other jewelry, took one of my four bags of diamonds out from where I'd stashed them, and headed out to the car. I knew it was just about one o'clock so I had two hours to try and change these out and get my hair done before I had to be at the hospital. Unfortunately, the Rothstein Jewelers shop was nowhere near my regular hair salon so odds were I was not going to make it to both unless I wanted to be late for my mom which was not my first choice. Note to the readers, based upon my personal experiences, never be late for Charity Carpenter.

My hope against hope was that traffic would be light and I could make it downtown and back to the salon with enough time to spare. Of course fate had other plans and about two blocks from where the jeweler's store was located in Chicago's financial district, traffic came to a stop, not something uncommon in the busiest part of the city on a workday. I weighed my options and chose a parking spot in a strip mall beside me and decided to hoof it over the last two blocks rather than fight the traffic and still have to find parking.

Yeah, remember how I told you Chicago is known as the windy city, especially in the winter months? Yeah I wish I had reminded myself of that after I turned and began jogging into wind on the next block. I was jogging because Harry said this was a skill wizards should definitely acquire and one he relied upon all the time for climbing stairs instead of using elevators. I reminded him that I'd seen him use it also with some rather terrible things chasing him and he admitted it was quite useful in those types of situations as well.

The fortunate happenstance to my choice to walk though was I found a hair styling place called 'The Rave' that was part of a new outlet chain that catered to folks of my generation, meaning young people who still wanted to look good. Since it was freezing and I was a little winded when it came into sight still a block from my destination I took a moment to step inside and see what kind of wait would be involved.

The place had four working stylists with clients in their chairs and an equal number of people waiting in line. I talked to the girl working the front desk who seemed annoyed I had pulled her from reading People Magazine to check on any open appointments on the schedule. She said they might be able to work in if I could be her in a half hour or so in a tone that said she was doing me a much bigger favor than a mere customer had the right to expect. But hey, beggars with golden roots can't be choosers so I took the appointment and then headed back out into the cold and in a few minutes made it to my destination.

Rothstein Jewelers was not one of those type of glitz and glamour jewelry stores they have in most malls that overprice mass produced pieces of jewelry. Comparing Rothstein to that is like comparing a five star restaurant to McDonalds. Instead Rothstein Jewelers was a store that catered to those seeking the discriminating, hand-crafted, and high end pieces sought by true collectors.

In Chicago the store got first right of refusal for all the quality stones from the world's diamond and gem markets. It was rumored that if they had a large order, the Rothsteins in the past had literally cause fluctuations on the gold market. And finally, their pieces were described often as descendents from the Faberge line of jewelry that was indeed more akin to art that to attire. Their personal motto was that 'No woman ever said no' to a proposal when accompanied by an engagement ring made by Rothstein Jewelers. Of that I had no doubt.

They were also a shop that operated strictly by appointment with their customers, one deal at a time, rather than having two or more cross paths and fight over works or seem to challenge each other's tastes. On a busy day such as before Christmas or Valentine's Day the store saw three to four customers. On the average day it was only one. It therefore must say something about their reputation and products that Rothstein Jewelers were not only still in business but that the store had worldwide acclaim and a waiting list to boot. Some international travelers booked their business meetings in Chicago around their jewelry appointment.

I walked casually up to the twin security guards, former Navy SEALs, who stood outside the brick faced building. There were no windows to see into the store and the last time I was here the Rothsteins, who had more or less adopted me, explained that the seeming red brick wall on the outside and cinder blocks on the inside also hid two inches of steel plate between these layers. This would come at a terrible surprise to any robbers who thought to try and ram a car through the wall or used a stick or two of dynamite to gain access and find that they had failed.

The guards said nothing to me as I approached. Those who came here were told the proper routine. "I am Molly Carpenter here to see Mister or Misses Rothstein please." I said pulling forth the gold on black Rothstein Jewelers business card the family had given me at my first and only visit to the store. Thankfully the Rothsteins went for traditional style rather than modern high tech security. Had the card carried a magnetic strip on the back I would likely have shorted it out just carrying it around. Instead it had a number that the guard on the left called in and then described me to someone else on the other end of the line.

He received some response from the inside and then turned to look at me. "Who is Nerthus?" He asked as my security question. I smiled thinking of how the Rothstein family had come up with that one for me.

""A German Pagan goddess." I said without hesitation and watched him repeat the answer into the phone. He nodded and hung the phone up and ten seconds later the door opened remotely. Both guards immediately drew their guns and watched for anyone who might try to rush the facility. With the exception of a few things in the paranormal world that could perhaps get past it, this might just be the perfect security system.

Like Harry's place, Rothstein Jewelers had a steel door, but instead of having to open it manually it operated by electron command. I took an extra step back to make sure my presence did not short it out partway open. Once it came to a rest and the guards handed me my card back a walked rapidly through the door to make sure I did not screw anything up. Once through the door began to settle back into its closed position.

While the outside of the building may seem a fortress, and in truth it really was, the inside was a monument to creature comforts and the finer things in life. Instead of the standard glass counters with various wares displayed the room was instead a grand sitting room with comfortable padded chairs and loveseats arranged around an antique table. In the corner stood an equally old yet refurbished piano, supposedly one used by Mozart himself, at which a store employee played soft music in the background. I recognized the piece as the opening stanza of Beethoven's Fur Elise as I came into the room.

Mr. and Mrs. Rothstein dressed impeccably as one expects of the upper crust of society, sat together on one loveseat and immediately stood to give me a warm hug and a kiss on both cheeks, very Old World, and offer their welcome before holding out a hand for me to take a seat and be comfortable. Another servant standing off to the side wanted to know if I wanted coffee, tea, or hot chocolate which the Rothsteins promised was exceptional today due to a new imported chocolate shipment that had just come in from Belgium. They said while the Swiss may be known for their hot chocolate, in truth it was the Belgians who made the best. Normally the idea of coffee would have been good enough, but the hot chocolate was too tempting not to take them up on so I chose that one instead.

Now had I been an actual customer, the process of buying would have started with some casual get to know you conversation. Customers at this store were seen as long term clients not ones to make a quick buck on. They were also the store's best advertising. After a few minutes the conversation would come around to what was the individual looking for. From those early indications Mrs. Rothstein would use the phone at her side and from her amazing memory call for selected handcrafted pieces to be brought forth on display worn by a series of equally stunning models.

Half the time the store would already have the perfect piece the customer was looking for. For the others the customer would find elements he or she liked and then master jewelry craftsmen would create the piece for the customer's specifications. There was never any haggling on a price. A Rothstein piece cost a certain amount of money that you paid for or you did not…and without exception the customer always paid.

In my case the first steps were the same. We talked of family and I explained the situation with my father and eventually got around to what had brought me here. The part about my father seemed to evoke an odd reaction as the two looked at one another before continuing. I had purposely avoided the Knight of the Cross references in respect for their religion but they seemed to have other concerns of which they did not speak.

I pulled out the velvet back and poured the diamonds out only a small gold serving tray that jewelers use to separate and look at stones. Like any girl I knew about the four Cs when buying gems but that did not mean I had an appraiser's eye like Mr. Rothstein obviously did. Using a tweezers and that thing a jeweler sticks in his eye to magnify the stone he carefully looked at each diamond and scribbled a price on a piece of paper that I could not see and was able to keep from trying. There were eleven in this batch of stones, none of the biggest ones I had but all respectable in size.

Mrs. Rothstein had ignored her husband and carried on with me while she let him do his work. First she put me at ease and called for the Molly set on the phone. She then turned to talk of other things while I suspected in the back other employees were clamoring to fulfill this request. "My dear how much did you say the hospital was charging you?" She asked me over the rim of her own chocolate. Thankfully I had the bill with me and merely took it from my pocket and slid it across the table and over to her.

She looked at it and her eyes widened slightly. At this point her husband showed his wife the tall of his numbers and she looked at him in disapproval and told him to add an additional ten percent since I was family and not merely a customer. Her tone, while sweet in delivery, had that unspoken 'or else you will be sleeping on the couch for a month' threat in it I had heard many other wives make to their husbands. Mr. Rothstein nodded rapidly and scratched out his sum and wrote what his wife had directed before handing it to me.

The sum was more than double what I needed which surprised the heck out of me, but I managed to maintain some composure. I merely stammered before finding my voice. "Ummm that will be fine." At the same time the back door opened again and another model that made me feel significantly overweight carried in a small gold leaf box. This was placed down in front of me and the Rothsteins' eyes twinkled and nodded for me to go ahead an open it.

I did and found an elegant pair of alternating gold ball and pearl earrings, in the case. There was also a small engraved plaque of gold with my name on it which they were hanging from. "They are beautiful." I said in complete shock for what I was seeing. If you could not tell while I may wear jewelry I do not wear fine jewelry. I also knew they were worth more than everything I had ever bought for myself combined.

"They are a simple piece dear made from some extras we had lying around." Mrs. Rothstein lied blatantly to me. "I thought perhaps you might like to have them." I did not know what to say since I sensed this was a gift based upon my earlier kindness to their family. In these types of situations lesser is always the correct answer.

"Thank you."

Mrs. Rothstein merely nodded and then turned to another question. "Molly if you would prefer why don't you allow us to wire the funds to pay this bill and we can deposit this money for you in a private account for future bills?" She asked me as she pointed to the paper still on the table before her. "That way you will not have to explain to the IRS where the money came from and eventually in turn all the actions that led up to you acquiring these stones?" She said much like my own mother would that this was the best solution for us all to take even if I had not been the one to think of it.

I had not considered the IRS and realized now that saying I had been paid in diamonds by an immortal being for finding his watch was likely not going to be believed by the U.S. Treasury. I also had no fear that the Rothsteins would try and rip me off. As evident by their gifts in front of me we had too much emotional attachment for mere money to come between us. Mrs. Rothstein's idea was truly a perfect answer.

"That would be exceptionally kind of you ma'am." I said respectfully. This couple reminded me why Harry was willing to put his life on the line for so many others. She nodded at my acceptance folded the bill from the hospital I had handed to her and slipped it in her pocket telling me to keep my scratch paper with her husband's sum for my own records if I cared to. Then though, with a look from one to the other, the conversation took a strange turn that I had not been expecting.

"Molly are you perhaps related to a young man named Daniel Carpenter by any chance?" She asked me while taking a sip of her now no longer hot hot chocolate. Her eyes stared hard at me but I did not meet them as I had been trained to avoid such things.

"I have a younger seventeen year old brother by that name." I said in response.

"I suspected as much since your story of your father bore striking similarity to his story, though without all the details you provided. And of course your family names were the same so I suspected there was likely a connection between you." She said.

"Daniel spoke to you?" I asked wondering how and why.

"He did indeed." She said picking up the phone one more time. "Please bring up the 'goods' Mr. Carpenter sold us yesterday." She spoke to whoever on the other side of the phone was responsible for carrying out such actions before returning the phone to its cradle once more.

We sat in silence for a few minutes as I pondered not what Daniel had sold, which I was pretty sure I knew already, or why he had sold it, which I also assumed matched my own reasons for being here. Instead I wondered again just what Daniel was into. It seemed to me like I was going to have to check out my brother more closely and figure this out for myself.

The back door opened again and another tray was carried in and placed before Mrs. Rothstein. She drew back the black silk on the tray to expose six gold coins, not Spanish Doubloons as I think I had observed in his room, but gold none the less though smaller and presumably older coins. She turned to look at me.

"Does your family perhaps collect old coins?" She asked.

I could tell she suspected Daniel had raided a family fortune to get cash. While his story had been like mine to help my father, there were probably others in desperate straights that would do so seeking money to buy drugs or other things. The Rothsteins had obviously taken the coins but now were concerned over Daniel's ability to actually sell them.

"We do not." I said removing their fears at being stolen but raising their interest to the level of my own about what he was involved in. "He is working some new job where he gets paid in gold coins…something called a farrier I think?" I said hoping that would make sense to them.

"A farrier shoes horses my dear." Mrs. Rothstein explained. "While they can be expensive for racehorses and such one does not usually get paid in gold for their services. And they certainly would not get paid in sixth century Viking pennies." She finished by naming the coins for me.

"Vikings?" I asked. "You mean those big hairy guys who raided England and such?"

"Indeed, those are the ones."

"And they lived in the northern countries, right?" I asked getting a shiver of understanding going through my body.

"Yes indeed." She answered me. "Scandinavia is beautiful but also known for it months of perpetual night."

"And for being a land of winter…" Her words hung in the air and made me decide Daniel and I had to talk real soon!


	8. Chapter 8

**Semper Fidelis**

**_Chapter 8_**

I made it back to Rave just in time for my appointment and half expected the receptionist to glare at me for nearly being late. They take hair really seriously at these places and charge about three hundred for a wash, color, cut, and style job like I was looking for. I know guys see that price and probably blink a dozen times or more before wondering why women cannot just go to The Haircut Factory like they do and get all this for less than twenty bucks but that is because you guys just do not understand what this experience is like. It's why you have two pairs of shoes and we have in excess of thirty. Presentation is everything.

Back to haircuts and another analogy for you cavemen. For men there are only two types of touching; sexual and everything else that you could quite happily live completely without. If we use that scale then for women a good day at a stylist certainly falls directly within that first category. Add to this the fact that it can last hours…well you figure out for yourself what that means to the average woman. And yes, you can all believe that you are the exception to the rule… but if you all consider yourself the exception, who exactly is the standard we are so disappointed in? You think it's your friend don't you? Yeah, here's a little secret. He is sure it's you. Okay boys you do the math on that one.

Granted while I myself am perhaps a bit limited on my experiences in this overall comparative area but it did not mean I did not really appreciate my time at the salon just as much as the average married woman did when I could get it. And it sort of makes you wonder just where the tradition of tipping your stylist or barber came from and what you were actually paying for. As I was saying as close to sex as you can get with no worries of STDs!

Knowing all this then and how Rave was an upscale version that catered to the most sensual aspects of this experience you should understand my shock when I got back to the salon and found there was only a single female stylist of my age sitting in her chair and paging through magazines. The others who had been there before to include the 'too busy to do my job' receptionist were nowhere to be seen which I found odd considering just how busy they had been thirty minutes ago. That energy I had felt earlier was gone but my own excited prickly feeling I had walking into this place was still there. I assumed it was part of the salon's general atmosphere I guess.

The article she was reading must have grabbed her attention for she did not look up when I made my way inside and hung up my coat. Granted there was not one of those annoying little bells hanging over the door, not in a top end salon, but I had figured maybe the cold blast of outside air might have grabbed her attention. I noted right away that inside, while warming that outside of course, was not overly so. I guess the manager could keep the temperature down and rely upon all the hair dryers and bodies walking around to keep the place at a comfortable temperature. One stylist without any of the equipment running was just not up to the task.

"Um I think I have an appointment?" I said drawing the remaining stylist's attention away from the latest cover story from this week's copy of The Arcane; a magazine that catered to the supernatural and occasionally reported a true story between ones of Elvis's demon-spawned baby or how the real Wonder Woman secretly works for TSA. This week's headline for example was something about how ancient Mayan priests were really vampires and their sacrifices had been to appease their own bloodlust if my eyes were not deceiving me. I knew Harry's ex-girlfriend Susan had occasionally wrote for the weekly supernatural gossip rag and was living in South America so I had a moment of curiosity to see if the byline had her name attached. Susan was one of those who only report true stories.

"You I take it are Molly Carpenter?" Her voice asked rhetorically rather briskly as she stood up from her chair so I could take a seat. "I love your obvious style girl but I think we need to update your image to be more in line with the real you." I nodded happily knowing she understood and then noted upon closer examination that she was not just a stylist, she was also a customer of the salon as well.

Her hair was dyed as well and she seemed more akin to the darker tones of greens and blues more like rich sea foam than forests. Even up close the work was stunningly perfect, the hair lines crisp yet they effortlessly faded from one tone and back again to give her a constant wavy appearance. And whatever her original color I could not tell for there was no sign of either darker or lighter patches at the base of her scalp. I guess working for a salon allowed you the opportunity to stay ahead of such things.

I was looking forward to my own style being equally as professional. "What happened to everyone?" I asked as I took my seat in the reclining chair with the sink behind it. "When I stopped by here before the place was packed and there were a slew of stylists." I said as she placed the really big bib around my neck.

"That was the lunch time rush." She replied with a sparkle of fun. "It happens almost every day at about that time." With the bib secured she leaned my chair back over the sink and I noted the cold, cool, and detached professionalism in her eyes of someone who had likely done this hundreds of times in her life, which I placed between twenty five and thirty five years old. I guess if you have cut a couple hundred heads of hair you sort of don't get all that excited by it anymore.

"So you bring in a few stylists for lunch hour and then they go home?" I asked.

"Usually." She replied. "Though today they all went off to eat lunch themselves and get back here before the after work crowd starts wandering through."

I was going to ask what about the stay at home types of customers or the college kids without classes who come by at odd times. Normally my own salon catered to these non-working types during these odd working hours. I guess being down in the business district probably changed that customer base compared to being in the suburbs where I lived or spent most of my time. There were not any apartments near here that I knew of and businesses owned or rented all the property for a few blocks in all directions to support the Chicago stock market.

"I'm surprised your owner picked this location to set up a salon." I said as she moved my long hair into the sink. "I would think that you would not attract much business in a location like this."

"Those meant to find us usually have no problem doing so." She said with a smile as she turned the water on and began to sluice it through my hair. My god the water was freezing! I yelped and tried to shift but her hand came down on my chest and held me still. "You for example seemed to have no problem finding us."

"Damn that is cold!" I said but her firm hand kept me in place and after the first shudder that ran through and chilled me I adapted to the cold and let her do her job without holding me down. The cold was an initial shock but I also felt my scalp come alive and tingle and her fingertips and even the hard edges of her white painted nails scratched away peeling off dead skin and hair so the rest could grow strong.

"Cold water is invigorating for the body." She said as her fingers dug into my scalp and pushed the water directly against the roots. "It will bring greater shine to your hair than warmer water and will awaken it to grow. The warm is for those who are too lazy or too weak of spirit."

I'd say that the feel of her fingers were right on that fine edge between pain and pleasure, deliciously decadent and desirable. This drew me into its emotional embrace and brought me to life. Hey what can I say, I'm sensitive like that. I could even feel the tingling of electricity running along my spine and that my body was drawing in magic from the world around me as if in response to this touch. Like I said, it was not sex but it is certainly in the same category of intimate contact.

"So let's figure out the appropriate hair color for you." She said to me as if in seeming indifference from the effect of her touch on me. I guess she was probably used to it and merely continued on as she added some brand of shampoo onto my hair and began to work it in deeply. To my tingling senses the clean, pine-like scent of its fragrance was further enticing. "What do you do for a living Molly?" She asked as she kept up with her task and I could feel the soapy suds building up.

Okay this is always an awkward question for a wizard. Like anyone else we don't like having people look at us like we are nuts. We also do not like having to prove we are what we say we are and cast spells to demonstrate that we are not lying. Of course that merely leaves the other alternative of actually lying which Father Forthill likes to say is wrong even in this case so I try to accommodate these beliefs.

I sighed and answered as I mentally prepared myself for the inevitable uncomfortable moment to come as I answered her question. "I'm a wizard." I said.

"That's cool." She replied without any emotion and her fingers never even skipped a beat. Being gifted with sensitive magic I can usually sense changes in people's emotions but my words had not had a single effect upon her that I could tell. She took the claim of my being a wizard as easily as if I said I was a college student. Now I'm not stupid so this finally set off in me a series of internal alarms that I noted had been screaming in my mind for a while but I knew now they had been stifled. But now that I was regaining my senses the lack of others present and the general atmosphere of the place along with the appearance of my stylist led me to believe I was dealing with…

The door to the salon slammed open and this troll sized guy dressed in coveralls and a hooded parka stomped in. He did not have the appearance of a regular customer and just as both of our sets of eyes were drawn to him he raised a rather disagreeable looking large handgun and pulled the trigger. I was thankful that the hair washing had pulled magic to me that was ready to be used but I had not even had the time to think of calling up a shield much less make it happen when the shot fired.

Thankfully the gun was not pointed toward either of us but rather at the single surveillance camera that hung over the receptionist's desk and pointed toward the door. It exploded in a cascade of sparks and rained down a trickle of small plastic, glass, and electronic parts as the gunman now swung the weapon in our direction for emphasis. I began to try to sit up in response, not something easy to do starting at a ten degree decline, but my stylist's hand on my forehead kept me in place with a firm but silent command to stay where I was while she watched the newcomer.

"I'm here for the money." He said with words that could have been written by a cheap Hollywood scriptwriter as he flipped his hood back and displayed a nose obviously broken numerous times and a face that it seemed to be perfectly suited to as well. I thought to myself that shooting up the close circuit television camera is not the normal action for someone looking for a hair appointment. Knowing he was limited in his creativity I cringed knowing what else was to come. "Give it to me and no one has to get hurt." Yep, looks like he had studied up on his robbery techniques from watching Law and Order reruns. With a lingering touch to remind me I was not to move my hair stylist turned to face the intruder fully on.

"You understand that you are interrupting a private appointment just for a few hundred dollars?" She asked in a tone that displayed her obvious annoyance. One might think this brave in a person armed only with a blow drier and curling iron, but I knew better by now. Unfortunately our visitor was not quite so savvy and felt neither the tension growing in the air nor the subtle drop in temperature in the room that served as a warning. There were two strikes against him and the batter had not even had the sense to see the count was against him.

She began to walk casually toward the intruder showing no outward signs of fear or any internal ones I could sense either. That alone should have registered on anyone who is holding a gun that the person being talked to is not easily intimidated and therefore likely more than they appear. Harry says most people are oblivious to such things though and from watching this play out I knew he was correct.

"I don't care what you two are doing just give me the money in the register and you can get back to it. That is unless of course you two would like me to join into the fun as well." He said with a lecherous leer and displayed none of the fear he should have.

Murphy had told me that it was not uncommon for many crooks to get so afraid when committing a crime that they actually shake more than those they are robbing. Sometimes a robber will run off if the person they are holding at gunpoint merely says no to their demands. In one case she said the Chicago police arrested another guy holding up a 7-11 because he literally peed on himself because he was so scared and got caught running down the street in wet underwear and waving a gun. She said the scared ones were pretty dangerous to those around them because the gun they were holding would often go off accidentally just from their shaking.

But our visitor here showed no sign of this kind of stress. Either he was very experienced in these types of events or he was hoped up on drugs or alcohol, another fairly common occurrence in robberies that often led to undesirable bullet wounds. I began to slowly move my left hand, the one with the shield bracelet Harry had made for me, off of the armrest and over my body so I could point it in the intruder's direction if such a thing became called for. Unfortunately he noticed my movements and swung the barrel of the gun in my direction to get me to stop without saying a word.

As she took each step toward him the stylist's basic manner seemed to change before my eyes. I knew Thomas was a White Court vampire and that his very being and movements exuded confidence and sensuality to those around him. It was an aphrodisiac built into his very DNA. It was impossible for him to walk down a crowded street and not have every woman's eyes, and a fair number of men's, turn to follow him. Now with each step my hair dresser seemed to grow away from the mere mortal shell she had disguised herself in and more and more like a creature of power and seduction though there was nothing physically that seemed to change about her. They say attitude is everything and I have to agree.

I could sense not only the increase in sexual tension in the room but also that the guy holding the gun sensed it as well and he was hopelessly intrigued by it. From this angle behind her I could not help by notice the subtle yet sexually pronounce sway of her hips and understood how such actions drew men's eyes. I reminded myself to work on my own walk in the future even though there was no way I could ever compete on this level.

"I see from your style that you are one of those charming and dashing bandits of the fairy tales." She said sweetly and from the various mirrors hung around the salon I could see her raise the white nail of her right hand pinky to her impossibly full lips and smile coyly at him while she bit on it slightly. "You are like that old English guy. What was his name? Oh yes Robin the Hood or something like that. Come to steal from the rich and sweep maidens off their feet." The only thing she was missing to play out the Evil Kinkstress act, as Harry had referred to this part of her persona, is a shirt that read Boy Toy but our visitor did not seem to notice its absence.

"Yeah that is me." He said gulping in response as his eyes never left looking upon what she was offering. For the first time the gunman's confidence seemed to be shaken or at least displaced by other thoughts and emotions. His gun stayed pointed in my general direction and I hoped she did not distract him too much that something went off accidentally. My left hand inched a little farther along my body and I prepared to call up a shield in for my defense case I needed it.

"Ah he is both handsome and eloquent." She lied blatantly before stopping right before him and letting the hand whose finger had just been in her own mouth reach out and touch the guy on his chest and slowly start sliding suggestively lower. "Surely you would allow me a chance to fully enjoy this storybook moment as is only befitting?" She asked with a husky feminine voice dripping with false innocence and a body and attitude that bespoke nothing but guilty pleasures.

"You sure speak funny." His brain made his mouth speak whatever thought had flickered across his mind instead of running like he should have. I was starting to understand why Harry had so many scars. Men are just plain stupid.

"Surely if you are going to take my money you could at least leave me with a kiss knowing it shall torture me with restless nights as I relive its feel over and over." She slid her body against his and even through the parka I could tell he felt the electricity she was sending him.

I suppose he would be less than human had he been able to deny her request. While the gun pointed in my direction like his mind now waivered off target, he swept his free arm around her waist and drew her body even closer to his own. She let out a perfectly appropriate coy giggle and turned her face up to meet his just as his slightly parted lips came down on hers and their tongues fenced in a passionate dance.

It took only an instant but I could see from where I lay that his suddenly eyes opened wide realizing the trap he had fallen into. He tried to suck a breath in through his nose but her hands locked on the back of his head and drew him closer still. While not bright, his survival instinct kicked in and even though he weighed three times what she appeared to his efforts to escape were all in vain. I have to this point unfortunately witnessed a few deaths in my time, all since my powers came into being in fact, and I can say that this one was the cleanest of any I had observed first hand.

From across the room I could feel the sudden burst of pure arctic cold emanate from her body and could also see and even hear the fluids in his body freeze instantly. Ice I realized at that moment crackles just as loudly when it is created rapidly as it does when it breaks.

But Winter was hardly satisfied at such a simple and efficient kill. She kept the kiss going even after the heart in the gunman's body had frozen solid in mid beat and then poured even more and more of the elementally frigidness at the mortal in her grasp pushing the flesh past merely frozen. While ice seemed solid to the touch I knew from school and my studies in magic that the atoms that made up the ice were still in motion only much slower than normal. To stop them completely required the temperature to reach what my chemistry teacher had called absolute zero. The robber's atoms reached this point in less than five seconds after the kiss began.

Had she allowed more time to reach this point his body might have burst apart like a frozen watermelon as each one of his cells expanded and exploded as its liquid turned to ice. But because she infused him with the magical essence of elemental cold instead the atoms that made up the molecules that made up his cells all stopped moving at once and simply fell apart. I can only describe the results as making the body that had been standing there collapse like a castle of dry sand and then having even those individual particles break apart further leaving not even a hint of residual dust to mark that a living mortal being had once been standing there. The only sound made in this process after the ice cracked was a muffled thud as the heavy gun landed on the floor thankfully without going off. It was an efficient way for Winter to kill, dare I say coldly efficient.

"Yes I will certainly relive this memory often." My stylist said with a sinister gloat and turned to look at me. She no longer hid behind the glamour of commonality she had placed upon the salon. She was a creature of power and subtle danger. She was…

"Maeve." I said acknowledging aloud to her that I knew who I was facing. I tried awkwardly again to sit up but that is not easy to do in a chair leaning so far backward and in truth while that was a panic response I knew if the Lady of Winter meant me harm there was little I'd be able to do to stop her. Figuring I'd rather die comfortable I leaned back once more into the chair and turned my head to watch her approach.

"Well it seems that Harry Dresden's lessons are not a complete waste of time." She said walking back toward me with that same sensuous gait that now seemed natural to her. "Care to tell, girl to girl, me what other 'lessons' he has taught you so far?"

There was a wicked and teasing look in her eye but I also sensed something else. She could not completely hide that she was actually interested in the answer. I had heard Harry say she had made advances on him in the past like she did to all men and that he had turned her down. I could see now that this rejection made him all the more interesting to her because so few had likely ever done so; or done so and lived to tell the tale. I suspect the Lady of Winter has a reputation of desirability to maintain where men are concerned.

"I can see this is worth much to you." I said with a hint of a knowing smile of my own. "How many wishes are you willing to offer for giving you this information?" I said which caused her to draw to a stop a few steps from me. She looked at me with a flicker of anger for daring this impertinence and then let her lips blossomed into a full smile.

"That is very good of you sister." She nodded in approval. "It appears that Wizard Dresden explained our kind to you quite well in fact. That speaks well for both of you and offers all kinds of enjoyment for me. I so prefer taking advantage of those knowledgeable of our tactics. There is something intensely satisfying of getting the better of someone who should know better than it is for those who are ignorant of us." She finished walking back over to me.

"I would think we would be past that and your mission here is to offer me an appropriate payment for this service I am rendering to you as Winter's agent in these events." I said. "I hope you don't think a makeover qualifies as such a payment?" I said and then exerting all my will to not panic I turned my head back in my chair, flipped my soapy hair back into the sink, and closed my eyes to signal I was allowing her to continue where she had left off.

The room got noticeable colder for a second. "It seems that Dresden taught you more than a little of his arrogance too." She said disapprovingly but not completely to my surprise went back to washing the soap out of my hair while she continued to talk.

"Obviously I am here because you took upon yourself the token we Queen Mab had meant for Harry." She said as her fingers combed through my hair and drew away the remaining soap stroke after stroke. "Normally such insolence is punished harshly for only we select any who is allowed the privilege to wear a title of Winter's champion. Your impertinence in this matter almost led to your destruction and if not for two things you would join that foolish mortal who decided his course with the wrong part of himself."

"It is only the Queen's current need and the regard she holds for you master that allowed me to convince Mab to hold this interview instead of killing you outright like the poor bandit." The picture of my body turning to frozen atomic dust like his made me shudder but I blamed it on the cold water. "Summer's champion remained and so to balance Wizard Dresden was once more called. But he was not available and as you rightly pointed out sister, you are currently an extension of his authority much as I serve Queen Mab." She said.

"Then why take over a hairstyle salon just to talk to me instead of appearing in my car or something more flashy? I thought the sudden appearance was more along Faerie style in order to intimidate those you seek to coerce." I said. "I take it by the way that the actual stylists and patrons are in no true danger?"

"The goal of this meeting was for me to learn more of your character since we have paid little attention to you." She said turning off the water now that all the soap had been washed clean from my hair. "We know some things about you from your time in Arctis Tor but the Fetches you had direct dealings with and know you best were unfortunately permanently removed from our service by you master and his friends." Which meant Harry, Murphy, Thomas, and my mom had killed them.

"Of course The Leanansidhe normally keeps track of Dresden's activities, and would have by extension your own as well, but she is rather indisposed and currently Queen Mab is reforming her." Harry said she too had be locked into a block of ice near where Lloyd Slate was being tortured.

"Therefore the Queen decided it feel to me to determine if we accept you as our agent in this matter and therefore that your actions shall reflect upon our court's standing. If my decision proves wrong the Queen's anger will be visited upon me as well." She paused to look at me as she pulled up a thick cotton bath towel. "I will freely admit my initial instincts went toward killing you for daring to assume the mantle of Winter's agent. However, your use of the Winter token to temporarily poison a part of Summer's demesnes I found wonderfully delightful. It was enough to in fact stay my hand. Therefore it is in both of our interests to see that your personal motivations make you appropriate to continue in this role or if another more suitable agent must be selected."

"I will try not to disappoint you." I said as she stepped on the pedal and chair raised back up from its reclining position back into a more traditional sitting one.

"Like Dresden I think you show too much compassion for those around you which we see as a weakness and a potential distraction." Maeve began to towel dry my hair but even under the thick cotton I had no trouble hearing each of her words clearly. "Your concern for the mortals from this shop is merely another example. So we stay focused and you avoid unnecessary distraction the employees and customers of this shop are merely in the back room deeply asleep, or as they commonly say they are in hibernation since that is the term you use for winter slumber. They will awaken without harm or even memory of these events." She answered.

"That is good for you because then I will not feel forced to raise my price for this service I do for you." I said.

The towel stopped moving. "I see Dresden has unfortunately infected you with his wit and arrogance as well."

"See I'm a perfect replacement for Harry then. We both know at this point you are stuck with me and we both have no interest in prolonging our association any longer than necessary." I said as I pulled the towel down off of my head to turn toward her. "Now let's settle on a price so I can get about my business." I said levelly and looked at the Lady of Winter.

"Indeed." She agreed.

"As I see it this situation appears on the surface fairly straightforward." I said. "Both Winter and Summer Courts require a free willed emissary to look over the facts of this incident and determine the cause. Court prestige among the other powers hangs in the balance. Last time since both the Winter Knight and Summer Lady were to blame for events neither side felt a shift in balance or the support they garner from outside. But this time the scales are completely unstable and so other powers may decide to become part of the ongoing game between you. This randomness suits neither of your courts for it upsets the eternal balance."

"You are quite perceptive for one so young." She nodded with a look of approval.

"On the face of things it truly looks like Winter is guilty." I said continuing on so as to not get distracted. "Striking down two of the Summer Court though is almost too direct and it hardly plays out in Winter's favor at this time." I said. "You are still absent your Winter Knight if you still have him encased in ice like I saw back at Arctis Tor. Were such a plan truly to be hatched by Queen Mab she would likely want her knight and all of her court available for the battle to come so she might defeat Summer once and for all. Therefore unless you have recently named a new Winter Knight it seems unlikely this plan was yours."

"As you say the traitor Lloyd Slate remains in his tortured state until the Queen releases him." Maeve agreed with obvious annoyance of this particular subject. "She remains steadfast in her wants for your master to assume this mantle and will not finish off this betrayer until Harry agrees to do so." I knew that Faeries could not lie but sometimes such things are even worse to deal with when you know there is no chance of them being less than true.

"So your court remains denied of his power." I said. "But Summer's Lady and Knight are currently weakened which on the face of things improves Winter's strategic situation, but only for a few more weeks until the winter solstice when your power will begin to wane and Summer's begin to grow once more. The strike that took down these two from Summer's court did not kill them yet. Their bodies still live on at the moment and therefore still hold Summer's power trapped within them. They have been effectively neutralized and unless Queen Tatania sees fit to let them die to transfer their power Winter holds an advantage. If you were to strike such a blow now, the Queen would have no choice but to let the pair die and transfer their power to others in order to oppose you. Your war would hardly be guaranteed. In fact it serves to better that Lily and Fix remain in a coma but you have no control over that." I reasoned. "What purpose does it serve Winter then to strike such a blow if they are unable to capitalized upon once served?"

"Are you asking me to provide you with this information?" She asked me in response to my rhetorical question. Since information was the normal currency used between mortals and the Sidhe she would likely be happy to provide this as my price of service.

"No I am merely reasoning this out for myself now that I have a moment to think about everything I have learned." I replied as she waited patiently. "I may decide I have questions I want you to answer but there seems no reason to have you provide me information I already posses if I just reason it through." She looked at me with another little hint that bespoke respect and that had not been there a moment before. I did not let that distract me from putting the pieces together.

"The fact remains that one of Winter's tokens was found on the cook." I said. "I must assume with the power they hold and as you stated earlier the actions of those who carry them reflect upon your court that you do not give those out to just anyone?" I reasoned aloud.

"That is a fair assumption." Maeve agreed. "They are given only to those we consider one of Winter's Champions or as a token of our favor for a mortal's actions on our behalf."

What favor a cook might have provided to Mab I could not fathom but I certainly did not want my 'payment' to include information that was not directly important to solving the mystery I was working on. His reward came from some past action and therefore may be completely unrelated. So what else did I know about what all was going on?

Instead of approaching this head on I needed to look at it from another angle. "Let's assume for the moment that Queen Mab is not out to destroy Summer but instead that one of your champions decided to go rogue on you." I said. Maeve looked at me with annoyance but said nothing of this slander of her mortal servants. Since this type of action was not unknown even among the highest levels of Winter such as Lloyd Slate how could one doubt a lower-level associate might not do the same? When your forces are driven by self-promotion and gratification like the Unseelie tended to favor and held in check only by fear of Queen Mab and those who held more power it is not surprising that some might seek to take unsanctioned actions of their own if they thought they could get away with it.

"Still if that were true then what was the cook's motivation?" I asked myself. "What does an agent gain by sacrificing themselves to cause harm to a few nobles of Summer's Court? He must understand that even if he is successful all his actions accomplished is a transfer of power to two new members of the court? Personal revenge of course fits this bill and I have no doubt the powers of Summer have made enemies but Fix and lily are new in their power. It seems unlikely they could have inspired such hate so fast." I thought aloud and ignored Maeve's eyes on me.

"We all have enemies sister." She said with a cool smile. "It is a burden we of power must endure. I am sure my dear that as a wielder of magical power you will learn this for yourself all too soon. But still I must agree with your assessment that neither Lily nor Fix struck me as the kind to inspire such rash and final action in others either."

In my few years of magical power I had already acquired a few powerful enemies, many of which were the leaders of the White Council of Wizards of which I was a member. Then there were Harry's enemies who might have looked upon me as a foe due to being his apprentice; Harry tended to make lots of enemies. Thankfully my only solo adventure since gaining my powers left few people with a personal grudge against yours truly.

The Lady of Winter had however just offered me confirmation of my assumptions without actually holding this provided information over my head as a potential payment. I had to assume she wanted me to solve this every bit as much as I did but was bound by laws to act as she did. I put that thought to the side and concentrated on what she had said.

I turned away from these thoughts for they were only distractions from my current situation. Harry had stressed in such situations that I needed to stay focused or I end up trapping myself. While a personal suicidal vengeance fit the facts it still did not make sense when all the other outside factors were considered. How could such a sacrifice serve a greater purpose? I wondered internally until the answer came to me. "Such an attack might make sense of course if the agent who poisoned the Lily and Fix was himself a stooge of someone else with their own agenda." I reasoned aloud.

"That seems an apt deduction." Maeve stood watching me as if she could read my thoughts.

"Summer also reported that some of their most loyal and effective forces have been defecting to Winter." I said and noticed Maeve's eye rose in apparent interest at this news. "Assuming this activity is associated with the poisoning attempt, and it is too convenient and timely not to be, then the overall purpose seems to be to weaken Summer first and then to attack by using forces not aligned to Winter, and therefore not subject to Mab's monitoring. That means either the action is not sanctioned by Mab, she wants plausible deniability of these events, or most likely whoever is behind this wants Summer and Winter's eyes on each other while they carve out power for themselves while your focus is somewhere else. I have to think with the way all eyes immediately turned to accuse Winter the last is the most promising."

"That certainly seems a reasonable assumption of an underlying motivation for these events." Maeve said in a way that seemed to me like she herself was just coming to this same conclusion. Her tone though offered no agreement that I was on the correct course but I suspected that while Summer had been accusing Winter for these events, Winter had in turn naturally assumed this was a grand play of Summer in order to draw forth an attack by a weaker opponent. With the Winter Knight out of play why wouldn't Queen Tatania make it look like Summer had been weakened to draw them into battle? And the two nobles conveniently downed could make impressive and timely recoveries in order to restore Summer's advantage. So of course Winter would want someone to prove that this was actually Summer's plan.

Harry had also told me that dealing with those of Faerie was never a straightforward endeavor. Instead they wove intrigues within plots within schemes. With millennia at their disposal they were master manipulators and even though they could not state a falsehood they had no problem leading mortals, especially perky teenage wizards, into disillusioning themselves by making assumptions that were not true. Unfortunately in order for me to be certain of their motives required one of them to provide information which they never willingly did for free, unless that too served their greater purpose. Maeve was forcing my hand.

"Alright let's get back to talking about payment." I said with a new sense of determination.

Maeve held out her hand palm up and whispered a word I did not recognize. "We in Winter have heard of the injuries your father sustained in battle against our mutual foes. He is protected by powers other than our own so we may not heal his body. We can however provide you the resources to see to this through mortal mean." In her hand gleamed a dozen or more gold coins that looked not unlike the ones that Daniel had acquired. A cold shudder ran through my body at this.

The rage built up so fast in me that I slapped her hand away and the coins went flying across the room. I cannot tell you which of the two of us was more surprised by this action and had I paused to think I might have been smarted in the words that I chose.

"First, you will start by answering any and all questions I have on this matter truthfully and honesty." I said staring at the Lady of Winter who was still coming to grips with my actions. "Second, you will swear that Winter shall leave my family, all of my family…" I stressed these words slowly and distinctly. "…alone for ever more and any contracts or debts you have with them will be considered paid in full."

I took a breath before continuing and the realization of what I had done suddenly hit me and stopped the next words in my throat. Maeve recovered from her own shock at this point as well too and the room suddenly became much, much colder.

"Is that all?" She asked as her eyes narrowed on me daring me to ask for anything further. Harry always said it was important to show the Sidhe that they could not intimidate you. Unfortunately at this moment I was feeling really intimidated. I whispered my spell of courage on myself and waited for it to take effect before answering.

"No…there is one more thing." I said with my own smile back at Maeve. "You will finish my hair styling and make me look beautiful." I closed my eyes and waited for my world to end. Instead, after the longest ten seconds I think I have ever experienced I felt her tug my hair and the comforting sounds of scissors clipping away.

"You have our agreement sister." Maeve said the last word like she wanted to spit it at my feet. "I will make sure your beauty rivals that of Unseelie Court so all know you are our champion."

I have to say when I opened my eyes and saw not only the results of my new color and style but of the makeup and clothing she had magically provided I was not disappointed.


	9. Chapter 9

**Semper Fidelis**

**_Chapter 9_**

Do you know what the great thing is of having the Faerie Court serve as your fashion consultant? They have access to materials and magic that all the best designers in our world would absolutely kill for. Take my latest look courtesy of Maeve for example and tell me this is not just the absolute coolest thing.

It was made entirely from sheer and nearly see through silk, yet it was reinforced with spells that kept the wearer's body at a comfortable temperature as if walking around in the mid seventies regardless of the outside conditions. The near transparent aspect was enhanced for proprietary sake through the use of multiple layers to just barely protect one's modesty though I'm certain my mother would still have a heart attack if she saw it. It also did nothing to support, compact, enhance, or detract from what nature otherwise provided so I was happy to see aikido training was providing fruitful benefits beyond just mere self-defense skills.

Maeve also informed me that the outfit was further enchanted for some resistance against basic combat spells; those of means such as fire, cold, acid, and so forth. It also would provide some help any common projectiles like copper slugs from guns. Being Faerie make of course it held no protections for iron or steel. Being as that you cannot usually tell what type of bullet is coming toward you until after they dig it out of your body I therefore decided I'd stick with my shield bracelet if such events became necessary since it could handle all. And so there is no doubt let me further explain that I had every intention of avoiding such events so this did not become necessary.

Maeve then explained the coolest part of this particular outfit was that it appeared to outsiders, singularly or collectively, as whatever the most advantageous apparel would be. That meant while I could look like the Goth Faerie to me, I could walk into Father Forthill's church and he would see me in very conservative clothing so that it would not be an issue for discussion. Maeve said all Faeries used this in order to not attract attention from those they did not want to, and to purposely attract attention from those they desired. I remember how Harry had described Mab when she came to his office the first time in disguise and those time he had crossed paths with Maeve and figured they were wearing such these types of things in those encounters as well. As a neat side-effect if I cared to concentrate I could even look down and see what the other saw to prevent any confusion or how they envisioned me.

The two downsides to this of course were that those from the Nevernever could see right through the illusion, but they would also understand that this outfit and my icicle pendant procalimed me an agent of the Winter Court. Secondly like all Faerie spells the apparel would dispel at dawn but as part of my payment she would ensure a new outfit just like it arrived at Harry's place just after dawn for the next week. I guess all things considered that was a fair deal though I'd have negotiated for longer if I thought I could get away with it. I mean who else gets to dress up in late November Chicago like a Faerie tart with combat boots and still get the love and acclaim of their conservative parents?

My hair Maeve of course dyed black to match the outfit and then went a little farther with so mascara highlighting around the eyes to darken my blue and make them stand out even more. Mab was Queen or Air and Darkness so black really was a central theme color to the Winter Court. I don't normally wear lipstick but in this case I indulged and Maeve provided a shade of dark red that I have to say Maxfactor would do well to try and copy.

With our game of dress up completed, which thank to Faerie magic took less time than a regular color and cut job, I turned back to the most critical part of my deal and began to question Maeve on these events. Knowing she could not lie is one thing. Making sure she would answer completely is another. Each question had to be very specific without allowing her wiggle room that might cause me to deceive myself.

"Let's start with the basics Maeve." I said. "Did the Winter Court plan, execute, or sanction the attack on the Summer Lady and Knight?" What I realized I need for this type of discussion is a law degree. I wonder if Harvard has a course on Faerie law.

"No sister." Maeve replied. "While the Winter Court as a general rule applauds such actions that weaken our rivals, we prefer they do so at a time and a means of our choosing. This current event was neither and in fact places us in nearly equal jeopardy of a war whose time and choosing is not currently within our interests."

"Can you say then with certainty that a Winter's agent was not responsible for the attack?" I asked.

"No, I of course cannot. This is especially so if you did indeed see a Winter token found by Summer on the one they claim responsible." She answered. "As of this time not all tokens or those we have blessed with such items are fully accounted for so I cannot say what you saw was a deception." Great so it may have been a Winter agent acting rogue. That would be incredible hard to prove to those harmed.

"Has Winter tempted Summer's elite forces into transferring sides?" Just because they had not cause the action did not mean the Faerie of the Unseelie Court would not try to profit from it. This action happening now certainly placed their rivals in a much more tenuous position.

"To my knowledge no such increases in our armies have occurred." Maeve responded.

"To your knowledge?" I asked catching heavily on the inflection she had placed on these words.

"Yes of course." She replied. "Were the Queen of a mind to do so she could perform this action without my knowledge. But even so each Court is so vast it is therefore impossible for even the Queen to know all that takes place within their demesnes. If as you stated earlier some rogue agent is responsible for these actions then they might indeed be hidden within the lands of Winter beneath our notice. But I state clearly again if such is the case it is not with sanction that I know of."

"But this recruitment could also be with Queen Mab's approval and you simply have been left uninformed about it." I repeated what I took to be the unsaid but important fact again.

She merely nodded "As I said, I do not know the mind of my Queen in all things." She offered her answer with these very specifically selected words. The problem with those words and their meaning lay in that Harry had told me he and perhaps even Maeve herself believed that Queen Mab was possibly going insane. If Maeve was therefore willing to acknowledge she did not know the mind of her queen at this time could she really be saying that insanity was now fully manifested and these events were merely the prologue of even worse things to come? That thought sent cold shivers through my body at the implications of such a potential for the Nevernever and for our world.

Such a thought started to lead to panic but before it could take hold I closed my eyes for a moment and focused upon my inner chi as Hisha had showed me how to do. A few forced deep breaths kept my heart from racing and allowed my body to calm somewhat so that I was better able to focus my mind. I rationalized that it made no sense for me at this point to worry about an insane Queen of the Fae for that was too big of a problem for me to deal with. As I had been told God only provides us those challenges we can overcome and this was one beyond me.

Instead I chose to focus on those events I could do something positive, which meant in this case I must work off the assumption that it was not Mab or Maeve behind these events but rather some rogue element and that once exposed the Faerie Courts could deal with it appropriately. That was a problem better suited to my deductive skills that I could successfully deal with. The rest of these concerns merely required me to have faith that everything else would work out as it was intended. That realization brought me a sense of comfort.

I opened my eyes to see Maeve looking at me with an odd look that dare I say bordered upon respect. It was if I had grown somewhat in stature in her opinion.

"Lady Maeve, how can I get in touch with you if I need further information?" I asked her by using her full and formal title to demonstrate my own respect as well. Just because I had no further questions at the moment did not mean that I would not have some in the future that she might be able to answer for me so it was a good idea in my mind not to burn bridges or have her too busy to respond when I needed her.

"Well since Harry has not yet instructed you on summoning circles I suggest you merely place you hand on the token and call forth my name three times." Maeve said in response reminding me this is the common means to attract the attention of a Fae.

"You would be well advised sister not to do so rashly." Her eyes flashed dangerously at me. "By our contract I must answer your inquiries but I will not forget any insult offered by assuming I exist to serve your needs." Okay, so Maeve was explaining she was not at my beck and call but I doubt she understood that I had little desire to spend any more time in her company than I absolutely had to. Having this means of reaching out to her merely provided me options for possible future contingencies; ones I'd be quite happy not to have any reason to exercise. But that aside, right now I had more pressing engagements to attend to and departed with merely a nod of my head.

I made a quick stop at Harry's place to let Mouse out for a quick walk and to make sure there was food and water to feed both his beasts before I headed to the hospital to relieve mom. I also took this opportunity to call the number Elaine had left with me in order to keep her up to date as I was expected to do for the other Faerie Emissary. I found it totally unfair that she was still sleeping when I called and because of this injustice I felt no regret whatsoever for waking her up to tell her only that I had found out little from my interview with the Winter Court except that they of course denied any and all involvement in these events.

We talked for another few minutes so that I was confident she had grasped everything I had told her and even after that point neither of us came up with an appropriate lead to continue our investigations. These events were all taking place in the Nevernever and neither Elaine nor I felt particularly confident in our powers or status regardless of our supposed protection to continue our investigations there, at least not at the present. If the Faerie Courts were indeed preparing for a war, the last thing I wanted to be doing was walking around annoying those who were brewing for a fight by asking questions.

Less than satisfied with our options, I promised Elaine I would check in again with her tonight when I got back to Harry's place and see if either of us had come up with a new angle we were overlooking at the moment. She made a crack about how this whole private detective thing looked a whole lot easier on television and I could not help but agree. "Hell even Harry works his way through these things and he is not the brightest of men." I said and heard Elaine laugh in response. We left things on that relatively high note at Harry's expense and I finished cleaning up.

I was just getting ready to walk out the door and close the apartment up when the phone rang again and I rushed over to get it. I was close to running late so I expected this would be my mom calling to check up on me and ensure I would be on time but I was wrong in guessing the caller. It turned out to be a completely different Carpenter.

"Molly?" I thought I recognized Daniel's voice but it held a tone of embarrassment in it that I had not heard from him in years. In fact I figured puberty had delivered Daniel an overabundance of confidence along with his deeper voice and inevitable body odor.

"Daniel?" I asked just to confirm for myself that it was him and not Matthew calling.

"Yeah." He said with a long drawn out sigh as if having second thoughts about this.

"Ummm what's up?" I asked because I really did not know what else to say since he had been the one to call.

There was a really long drawn out delay as I could literally feel my brother debating on whether to answer my question or not. I'm not trying to suggest that my sensitive magic abilities even allow me to sense the emotions of those I talk with on the phone, I just really knew my brother and what the various sounds he made meant. The fact that it was this awkward for him told me that it was also something pretty important.

"I need a favor." He said almost choking on the words so that he sounding like he was planning on asking me something I was going to want to say no to. Or it could also be he was going to ask me to do something that he did not want me to tell our parents about. I guess he did not understand that if it was the second one that would not really cause me much of a moral dilemma providing he was not involved in anything dangerous or illegal.

"Anything bro." I said trying to be calm. "You know I'm always here for you." I said trying to make him feel more comfortable and therefore get to the point of this conversation.

Did you know that you can actually hear a person cringe on the phone if you listen close enough? I realized in that instant that my attempt at trying to be the perfect accommodating sister was the inadvertently the absolute worst approach I could have chosen. Daniel and I had been playing cat and dog to each other so much lately that my ability to push that aside and willingly help him in a time of need forced him to consider if he would do the same for me if the roles were reversed. It really screws up your whole outlook on life when your opponent does things you have to describe as 'good.' That sort of leaves you aligned with the other side I guess.

"I need you to come down to the police station and get me out." He said in a nearly silent voice that I had to strain to hear.

Now I know I'm not a parent but I got a sudden sense of just what effect those kinds of words can have when delivered by someone you love. "Are you alright Daniel?" I asked with a bit of panic in my voice. "You are not hurt or anything are you?"

"No, I…it's not anything like that." He said and then I heard him mumbling to someone standing nearby, the voices muffled like he had put his palm over the phone so I could not hear what was said.

"Miss Carpenter?" A new voice spoke a few moments later. "This is Officer Alexander. Your brother was picked up by the police a few hours ago and because he is underage we can only release him into the custody of an adult." He explained calmly as if he had said these words hundreds of times before which he likely had.

"I don't understand." I said confused. "Was Daniel arrested? Do I need bail money or to call our family attorney?" While I had bail money we did not have a family attorney but I figured it was worth tossing that out there as a caution to the police. I remembered my own run it with a detective who had questioned me without my mom and how this had nearly backfired on him when Harry pointed it out.

"No we are not filing any charges." The officer answered quickly as if prepared for this. "But we still require a legal guardian be informed of his detainment and he has requested we contact you. How soon would you be able to get here?" He informed me of which of the station Daniel was at and its address. I was surprised to hear it was not the one near our home but instead one almost clear across town. I thought about its location for a moment and what I still had on my plate and then said I would be there before six. The officer accepted that and then turned to ask Daniel if he needed to talk to me. Surprisingly I could hear Daniel say he did not need the phone back and I suspected he was too embarrassed to talk further, especially in front of who knows how many strangers.

I left Harry's apartment and arrived at the hospital with two whole minutes to spare. My mom was already wearing her coat and had said her goodbyes to dad when I strolled in. The look the pair of them gave me as I came through the door almost stopped me dead in my tracks because my thoughts had been so focused on these events with Daniel that I had forgotten completely about my new Unseelie attire.

"Molly what are you wearing?" My father asked first as my mother's eyes grew wide and she broke out in a smile.

That was a most excellent question! What was I wearing, or better yet what did they _think_ I was wearing? It took me a moment or two to gather enough concentration and then look down at myself to see what it was they thought they were seeing.

I nearly choked on a laugh because the pair had subconsciously selected basic jeans, sneakers, and believe it or not a letterman's jacket with the colors from our school. Since I never had gone out for sports in my entire time at that school I had no idea just how either of them had come to the idea that I might actually have, much less wear such an item. But I guess parents are the best for hoping their wishes came true where their children are concerned and willingly believed nearly anything.

Worse still I noticed that since my hair hung wild thanks to Maeve's new style cut, I could also see they were picturing me with my completely naturally blonde hair. Again that was almost as unlikely as the letterman's jacket. Let me be clear, short of seeing me in a cheerleader uniform I thought this to be the most ridiculous outfit they could possibly have pictured me in but I did my best not to laugh.

"Um, these are just some old things I threw on after I woke up." I said hoping they took my choking smile as one of embarrassment and we could move on to other subjects.

My mother hugged me, she has been doing that a lot lately, but this one made me feel like I had made her every wish come true. Now for those of you who do not know my mother you might find such a thing sweet. For those of us familiar with Charity Carpenter I can only say it was highly disturbing. I mean picture Freddy Kruger buying all the kiddies of Elm Street ice cream type disturbing. Thankfully she had to leave to get home for my siblings so the awkward moment was cut short. I'm so glad my schedule had not allowed me to arrive any earlier because I doubt I could have handled much more of this.

Mom reminded us that tonight was also Christmas Choir rehearsals at school so she would be on her cell phone if something important came up. I knew that meant my mom had to race home now ahead of the rush hour traffic, get everyone fed, and then pack them all back into the minivan so she could get them back to school to hear Alicia, Amanda, and Hope all singing together. She reminded me to be available for my sisters' actual recital in two weeks and laid the guilt on think saying she hoped she could have all her daughters around her to enjoy this event. This was of course accompanied by another awkward hug because I had not had the foresight to step out of reach and lasted until I promised to attend the event. She left smiling in a way I had not seen her do so for days.

My mom had not been gone ten minutes before my dad finally spoke up. "I know she does not tell you herself, or at least not often, but your mother is very proud of you Molly just like I am."

"Thanks dad." I said because I did not know what else I could say to a statement like that.

"Harry said you are coming along in your studies." My dad continued with his praise. "But sitting here every night watching your old man sleep can hardly be helpful for that. So since I plan to go back to sleep for the rest of the night why don't you take the night off for yourself. I get the feeling you need some time for your own issues. It seems a fitting reward for the smile you put on your mother's face today. And since I will be asleep it's not like I can tell your mother that you were not here if you chose to leave." He said with a conspiratorial wink of father to his eldest child.

We argued about this for maybe two or three minutes but in the end I gave in, partly because I did indeed have more pressing matters to attend to, such as getting my parent's eldest son out of jail, but more so because I could not continue to argue with a man I loved and respected while he was hooked up to a jungle of wires and tubes. I kissed him on the forehead as he closed his eyes and performed my role of the dutiful daughter. Hey in his mind I was even dressed for the part.

I was at the police station more than an hour ahead of the time I had promised and other than an unfortunate incident where the police metal detector suddenly fried out exactly as I passed though there was no problem rescuing my brother after showing my ID. This was the second such failure of these devices that I had personally observed and I hoped the city got their money back for these obviously defective machines. Officer Alexander met me in the waiting area and led me to the private interview room Daniel had been waiting in, thankfully they don't place innocent boys in the holding cells with the less than innocent, and announced he was free to leave.

Daniel looked up at the words and then saw me standing in the doorway. I watched a battle of emotions, relief and anger if my senses were correct, spread across his face as each did battle inside of him. I had never really stopped during one of our quarrels to look closely enough but now I could feel there were actual bad blood between my brother and I. And while I struggled to accept the implication of this revelation the darker side of him won out.

"Great." He said dryly to the officer and then stood up and barged past me and through the doorway as he headed for the street entrance. That close brush, because of how little I was wearing regardless of how it probably looked, gave me an instant of even deeper insight into his feelings. I suddenly realized that my brother's issues with me were not just ones of normal sibling rivalry. He actually resented me, if not openly hated me. That realization was almost the worst blow I had ever taken.

"Daniel wait a minute!" I said as I rushed to follow him out the front door not caring what this must look like to the officers standing around. It was not like they had not seen family disputes before but that thought was no comfort to me at the moment. In truth I could care less what they were thinking. It was my brother's opinion that mattered most.

"Don't worry I'll grab a cab." He said without turning to even look at me as I scrambled to catch up. I have mentioned he is bigger than I am and a jock to boot so you understand that so he moves pretty fast right?

"No I am driving you home." I said as forcefully as I dared while in a jog so I could reach out and grab his coat, an actual letterman's jacket by the way, and spin him around to look at me. "We need to talk Daniel before thing get any worse."

"No we don't." He said shaking off my arm and walking back around to the back side of the building so I had to give chase again. Once around the corner and out of sight of those officers who may come through the door though he broke into a sprint and like I said my brother is an athlete so I knew I was not going to catch him.

Make that I was not going to catch him through normal means. As I chased after him I called up magic to me and just as he began weaving through cars of the parking lot and his steps became less confident I aimed and released my spell. "Gravitus!" I called out to the area right around him.

When Harry casts this type of gravity spell he has been known to bounce cars hard enough with this burst of gravity to blow out all their tires. By comparison on my best day I can only make a car rock a little bit. But that amount of force was just enough to make my brother, who was already off balance and dealing with an icy parking lot, wobble to his knees before they too collapsed and sent him sliding along the ground. I figured a little ice induced road rash was a fair punishment for not talking to me.

I was standing with my back to a car beside him offered my hand to help him to his feet before he even understood he had fallen down or that my obvious Latin word meant I had been responsible for it. "I'm sorry about that but like I said we need to talk."

"And like I said no we don't!" He had reached his knees by this point and from out of nowhere swung a punch in my direction. Had Murphy not been training me so hard to instinctually dodge I probably would not have been able. I was very pleased for these new survival skills made my body react appropriately even though my mind was still totally confused.

And it was a good thing I did dodge because the force behind the punch was enough to shatter the side panel of the Saturn I had been standing next to. For all those who own a Saturn part of their appeal the salesmen tell you is that the car's body is not supposed to dent. What the dealers do not tell you is that in below freezing cold they can break like cheap plastic if they are hit just right. And for those who do not know it winter in Chicago is cold.

I like to think the blow had hurt Daniel's hand but if that were the case he showed no signs of it and if it did anything at all it only seemed to get him even madder as he found his feet. I half expected him to turn green and say he was going to smash me.

"Daniel wait a minute…" I started to say holding up my hands and taking a few steps even further back as he turned toward me with unbridled rage burning in his eyes.

"You never know when to leave things alone do you Molly?" He said coming at me. I got out into the pathways where we were not right between cars because Murphy in our training had shown me the advantages of mobility, especially when facing a bigger opponent. Of course for Karrin just about everyone was a bigger opponent but she had never seemed to have trouble dealing with that. "You never listen to anyone but yourself regardless of what it does to those around you."

Thankfully the drivable part of the parking lot had been salted so while a little gritty, it was nowhere near as slick as the icy patches between the cars. I found a relatively good place to make my stand and try once more to reason with him. My feet told me it also was where I felt comfortable defending myself if reason was not going to work.

"Look bro you called me." I said. "I think you owe me an explanation of what is going on don't you?"

"I owe you?" He said with incredulity. "The only thing I owe you is an ass kicking." He came on with another charge and a punch that thanks to Murphy I saw coming as far away as Cleveland. I ducked it and slid to the side as he brushed past and as Karrin taught me laid my heel into his knee as he went by. If I had been meaning to hurt him I'd have done so on the side of the leg with an intention to dislocate his knee but because he was my brother my kick merely struck the back of this joint and caused the leg to collapse and therefore dropped him to the pavement again.

I did not want to believe that the brother I had grown up with could actually hate me, not when I knew about a whole series of other potential explanations. I suspected Daniel had either been affected by a spell of some sort or maybe he was under the possession of something sinister. The Denarians for example had tried to do this type of thing with Little Harry years ago so it is not impossible that perhaps they had made another attempt at my family that we did not know about. It would be payment in their eyes for all the damage my father had wrought upon their plans over the years. And there was one quick way Harry had shown me recently that I could find out if either of possibilities were true.

As Daniel tried to get his feet back under himself I opened my third eye, the one that all wizards metaphorically have, and stared at my brother through Wizard Sight. The downside of this action is that whatever I saw would be with me forever seared into my mind much like a soul gaze. The upside though would let me see immediately what if anything was wrong with Daniel.

As I have stated before, physically Daniel is an opposing figure for a boy his age. He very much takes after our father and is if anything even more broad shouldered and therefore physically intimidating than dad. I expected to see a similar overwhelming power of spirit underneath the skin that encompassed it but that belief could not be any further from what my magic enhanced vision showed me.

Daniel's spirit was not the glorious golden warrior like my father's that I had expected. It was not even a dark and evil mass that might lead me to believe he was under the possession of some evil creature. Instead it was a small and withered thing that looked vaguely slug-like and was colored the same sickly yellow coloration of an old bruise. I had never observed such a thing before but I knew immediately either through my magic or some other gift that his spirit had been scarred and broken a long time ago and it had never healed since. And looking upon this I also knew just what had done this to him for I had been responsible.

When I first came into my powers I had used them to do what I thought was the right thing. I had entered the minds of two of my closest friends and created in them a magical fear of drugs. I thought if I made them afraid of these narcotics their bodies were addicted to then I would through this action save their lives and especially the life of their unborn child. I had thought this was the reason God had given me these powers. But I had been too young, too naive, and especially too proud to know how wrong my actions actually were and the cost they would demand.

In creating this fear linked to an addiction I had inadvertently created a perfect receptacle for creatures who fed on fear. Here in the real world the White Court vampire family of Malvora consider fear like this a delicacy and would likely have fed on my friends for days before moving on to other rich targets. In fact one of their number had even been responsible for creating Splattercon for the sole purpose of creating just such a perfect buffet of fear through all the horror movies the convention projected during that week.

Unfortunately for all involved the creatures that had sensed the fear I had created was not from this world but was instead something of the Nevernever. They were called phages in magical terms, but for the uninitiated it would merely be easier to say they are the creatures that bring nightmares into your sleep and feed off your fear. When you awaken in shaking terror and turn on the light to banish the fear, you send them packing as well. Unfortunately due to my spell, turning on the light did not allow my friends to put a halt to their fear; it was a constant part of them. Therefore the two were the perfect portal to open the doorway to bring the phages here into our world. Because this all occurred during Splattercon where the best of modern horror was on display to scare us all, when the phages entered our world they took on the form of some of the most notorious movie villains of modern films; ones called Scarecrow, Reaper, and most importantly Hammerhand.

Since I had cast the original spell and been inadvertently responsible for their arrival, when Harry's counter spell to send these creatures back after their summoner went off the creatures came to our family's home looking for me. Scarecrow and Reaper took me without much of a fight. Daniel, however, as the man of the house while my father was away on God's business, stood up to and battled Hammerhand with a fireplace poker even though he was only fifteen years old. Harry had told me my brother never had a chance and that Hammerhand had left his spirit as well as his body battered and broken by the encounter. It was meant to serve as a reminder of what my actions had done even though I had thought I was doing the right thing.

When these events were resolved Daniel and I had never talked about any of this. Mom preferred at first we not speak of magic and this suited my desires so as to not to face the damage I had done. I had hoped by not picking at it I was allowing it to heal. Now I could see that this was also the wrong choice. Daniel had never healed from these wounds. Something had prevented that from happening. Okay physically his body had been restored, but his spirit remained a crushed and withered thing. And we both knew that I was directly responsible for this.

I probably should have also remembered at this point not to get trapped into the allure of what Wizard Sight reveals as Harry has tried to tell me time and time again. Daniel may have been down from my knee strike but he was hardly out and as angry as he was it took him only moments to find his feet and reorient himself on me. And during those precious moments I was coming to my realization of what I had done to my brother so was not watching what he was about to do to me.

I told you that Daniel was an all-state football champion so it should not come to a surprise to you that when he lowered his body and slammed into my stomach with his shoulder in a perfect tackle position that his two hundred plus frame of hard muscle had no problem launching my just slightly more than one hundred and twenty pound body across ten feet of roadway and into the hood of a parked Mercedes. Damn those German engineers for using quality steel and you should also know that little hood ornament hurts like hell when your spine slams into it. I heard cracking that could not be good and felt pain unlike any I had previously experienced as I slid to the ground in front of the car. Some detached part of my mind wondered how bad I would feel if I had not been wearing the Faerie enhanced protective clothing.

The only upside of this event was that my impact set off the car alarm, and even activated the car's airbags too, which blared noisily throughout the parking lot calling attention to us. Unable to even recognize my feet I had to hope that a car alarm in a police parking lot would get checked up on before my brother killed me. Thankfully the combination of the noise and my battered appearance brought Daniel out of his rage and down to just average anger. With a glance perhaps to assure himself I was still breathing he turned and ran off before anyone got a look at him. I tried to stand up and do the same but my mind could not get my body to respond at the moment. My spine appeared to be taking a union vote on whether this line of work I was currently in received proper compensation and I was coming to realize I would soon be facing more demands for a new contract.

A few moments later a few of Chicago's uniformed finest came rolling out to the parking lot and found me still sitting legs splayed in front of the blaring but not dented Mercedes that was calling to them. One of them slowly helped me to my feet after proving I could still feel my legs and asked if I had been hit by a car. I figured as a car had been partly responsible for at least some of the pain I was feeling it was alright if I closed my eyes, bit my lip, and merely nodded. All the follow on questions such as if I had seen the type of car that had hit me, what the driver looked like, or anything else the police could use to identify the party responsible for my injury merely resulted in me shaking my head. Reluctantly they let me go when I showed I could walk on my own, okay it was more like a hobble, and with my promise to go to the hospital. I would of course do that, but not until tomorrow when I relieved my mother.

Instead I got into my Mustang, wished silently for car seats made by any high-end mattress company, and drove slowly home hoping I could catch my brother before any further damage was done between us. Unfortunately I could still not move my legs very quickly and each time I was forced to jam on the brakes it caused a shooting pair to drive up my spine that brought tears to my eyes. To counter this possibility I was forced to drive slowly and stick to back roads where such actions were required less often.

I got home and found only the lights in the family room were the only ones lit. There were no cars in the driveway reminding me my mother had the rest of the family at the Christmas rehearsal. All in all that was probably for the best if Daniel and I came to blows again. I was certain that event was a sight I did not want to expose my mother or family to. I'm not so certain that Daniel would feel the same way based upon the anger I had seen in him.

I made my way into the house, not fast mind you and certainly overly careful for slipping on any patch of ice. The front door was locked, almost firm confirmation no one was home, but that did not mean I had gotten there before Daniel. He could have come and went while I was driving slowly. The only way to know for sure was to check out his room which unfortunately meant climbing two flights of stairs; a task that took nearly five minutes and came with free flowing tears by the end of it.

I readied magic and lifted my left hand, the one with my shield bracelet, to push open his door. If he came charging me again I needed that one ready for casting a shield spell if I had any hope of not getting beaten up again. The room, however, was dark and thankfully unoccupied by homicidal siblings.

Daniel's footlocker was also dragged out of his closet and into the center of the room where it lay open. The false top lay exposed and all signs of gold coins concealed within were gone. I shambled over and pawed through what remained finding only a knife I had not remembered seeing the last time I had looked through here. I pulled the blade from its leather sheath and immediately saw its newness and the creator's mark right where the hilt met the blade. It was based on one used in comic books, the letters D and C within a stamped circle. Only this time the letters stood for Daniel Carpenter. I now had proof that my brother the ferrier who was supposedly molding horseshoes was also creating steel weapons. And therefore with this too convenient coincidence I was almost certain who his customers were as well.

I hobbled over to Daniel's dresser and grabbed his comb before fighting my way up the stairs to my own room. Time was of the essence but I needed a phone I could rely on and the only one that fit this description was in my room. I made it there with beads of sweat on my forehead and dialed a number. It took only two rings for a woman's voice to answer.

"Hello?" She asked.

"Elaine this is Molly. Meet me at Harry's place in an hour. I may have a lead on someone who can tell us about the iron weapons in Faerie."


	10. Chapter 10

**Semper Fidelis**

**_Chapter 10_**

I was late getting back to Harry's place because my timeline had not accounted for driving at thirty miles an hour the entire way. There were a couple more cars than normal parked out on the street but I could not immediately see Elaine as I pulled in and parked my own car. With the fact that something had taken down a full grown yeti nearly right outside Harry's door I did not blame her if she did not just stand around waiting for me in the cold acting like a midnight snack for whatever was doing the killing. I assumed she would have wandered inside the apartment anyway since she knew how to disable the wards and therefore could take advantage of a threshold protection.

I opened the door and got out gingerly. Since you only have one spine you really can't favor it like you can an injured ankle. The formerly wet roadway from the sun beating down on pavement was turning now into a nice sheet of black ice, not thick enough to make a car spin out of control but surely enough to send a current less-than-perky apprentice wizard sliding onto her ass if she got careless. Thankfully the Winter Court boots seemed well suited for such terrain, go figure, so I made it to the door and even down the equally slick steps with only a continued grimace of pain for the entire trip.

As I suspected I sensed the wards were down telling me Elaine, or maybe even Harry was here at the apartment for there were no obvious scenes of carnage outside that something had tripped them. That was good for me because there was no way I pushing open the poorly aligned steel door with my back out of joint so I did the less prideful thing of knocking loudly and waiting for someone to open the door for me. As I assumed in less than a minute I was face to face with Elaine.

Oh my god what happened to you?" She asked with a bit of humor in her voice that really annoyed me as I staggered into the house. I guess some people think it is always a good thing to laugh at another's pain.

"I had a bad run in with a parked car." I said in a strained voice as she stepped fully aside and I made my way toward the roaring fireplace. Heat seemed a really good idea and I slowly pushed a small wooden stool over in front of the dancing flames and then gingerly sat down so I could bake my lower back muscles for a moment in peace. Her smile did not leave her face so I merely closed my eyes to enjoy the heat and not let her get me upset.

She waited patiently for me to settle down before walking around and sitting across from me on the couch. "I was actually talking about the Faerie wardrobe and new hair style." She explained. Good thing I had not answered with a sarcastic comment or I'd be extracting my foot from my mouth right now and feel even worse. I could hear Harry's voice telling me how it was important to think before speaking.

I opened only one eye and oriented it on her. "You can see through the illusion?" I asked confused.

"Obviously." She said with a smile of her own. "But remember I lived for a decade of my life among the Summer Court so this type of attire was fairly common for me. I wore such thing for the majority of my time among the Fae as well."

"With that as a background I also try not to have too many preconceived notions about people I deal with. I find it allows me the chance to judge them on their actions." I knew that last comment was a dig at me for the less than friendly way I had been treating Elaine since she arrived, but she has never really played on the up and up with Harry as far as I could see so I didn't see a reason to give her that same opportunity to play me.

"Yeah we all have those types of crosses to bear." I said in response. "Hell everyone sees me and immediately thinks warlock because of the mistakes I made using magic to try and save the lives of my friends. I don't think I ever will get over paying for that error." Especially not now with my own brother hating me too I thought to myself with a mental sigh of resignation. It certainly placed my feeling of self righteousness in a whole new light.

"Yeah Harry told me about that incident and the choices you made." Elaine said trying to maintain neutrality in her voice even though I could sense an underlying feeling of sympathy. "No one should ever be forced to make such terrible choices for their life, especially not at such a young age where they do not understand the long term repercussions." Her eyes were looking in my direction but not really focused on me. "At least you have the advantage of knowing that your choices had been your own and made at the time with the best of intentions for those you loved rather than something self serving or at the behest of someone stronger than yourself. Not everyone can say that about their own decisions."

We sat in silence for a moment each in our own thoughts as I weighed what she said and knew that Elaine had at least an equally difficult childhood. In fact Harry said if anyone ever informed the White Council that she had been another apprentice of Justin DuMorne then she would probably be executed for merely hiding for all these years.

The heat from the fire had felt good at first as it loosened up the tensed muscles but after those first few minutes that sensation seemed to only make the pain instead increase that much more. "Ow! Crap…Crap… Crap…" I said as I tried to stand and found to my painful disappointment that I couldn't. So instead I fell to my knees and crawled away from the flames with tears of pain flowing freely from my eyes.

I could sense Elaine's concern even though it was hardly the focus of my thoughts. I also knew she had stood up to help me but was unsure what was wrong or what to do. "Lay down." Elaine said in perfect synchronization to the moment I chose to collapsed on one of the thicker throw rugs Harry has lying around the floor of his apartment. It might have looked like I had immediately obeyed her command but the truth was the pain had been too much for me to drag myself any further.

I sensed Elaine step over the top of me and squat down, placing her sitting weight firmly on my own posterior and her hands on my shoulders to keep me still. "Molly do not move." She said looking down at me with a sense of concern and apprehension in her voice. "You have been marked by some sort of mystic symbol. It looks like a three pointed star within in a circle directly in the middle of your lower back. The skin looks red and enflamed and I think this rune is what is causing you all your pain. It is familiar to me but not one I immediately recognize for its power."

I trembled and bit down on my lip, unable to speak at the moment for the pain but sensing that it was dulling as it grew cooler away from the fire or that my body was simply becoming used to it. I sensed Elaine drawing in magic and casting a simple spell of insight to look upon the mark.

"Whatever magic was used to create it or its effect does not show in my sight." She informed me now even more worried for me. "It could be demonic since that might now show up with the spell I cast. But since I don't know what it is so I have no clue on how to break its hold Molly. I could do you worse harm if I tried the wrong thing" She said in an anxious voice.

"Mercedes." I sputtered out between clenched teeth and breathed in really short gasps.

"What?" She asked me confused. "Is that a name of the creaturethat did this to you?"

I drew in as much air as I could to make one more desperate attempt to answer her. "It's not a magic symbol." God it hurt to talk and sucking in air to my diaphragm to do so especially with her sitting on top of me did not make this process any easier. "It's from the hood ornament a Mercedes." I said again as I tried to beat back the pain.

She paused and sat back up a little bit based upon the shift in pressure I felt. "You know what you're right it is." She said with a little hint of relief in her voice. "Did you get hit by a car? Is someone trying to kill you?"

Technically yes to both of those questions I thought. And that was not counting the woman sitting on my back making the pain even that much more apparent to me. "No nothing like that." I said instead. "It's from an accident I had on the way over here."

"Lay still again. Since I know now what it is now I think I can help you with this." Elaine commanded and with her sitting on me and keeping me pinned as easily as Mouse could do I really had no way to argue with her, especially since speaking and even breathing hurt. Instead I just preferred to do the respectable thing and suck in air through my teeth and whimper in pain.

I felt her fingertips roll down my back lightly, tracing the path of my spine as they worked down from my neck to between my shoulders and then to my lower back. Her touch was gentle and thankfully the tips of her fingers were cool so it did not add any pain to what I was already feeling. I had a momentary flash of Harry walking into his apartment and seeing us like this in a rather compromising position which almost made me laugh out loud until the first chuckle made me move and the wave of hot pain flared up from my lower back to my brain again.

"Stop jerking around." She ordered me. "You knocked your spine out of alignment and it's putting pressure on your spinal column." She informed me and I froze as best I could in response. Spinal injuries I knew could lead to paralysis if you did the wrong thing and that was not something I was looking forward to since I hand not yet finished my second decade of life and as a wizard I likely had hundreds of years more of life before me.

"I didn't say tense up either!" She nearly yelled in frustration. "Just lay there still and try to relax and I will see if I can fix this." Sure you relax thinking of yourself as a paralyzed wizard with all the types of enemies Harry seems to bring in our direction. That whole wheelchair motif might be cool for Professor X but it would not impress a troll.

I felt two fingers again, her thumbs by the size of them I guessed, come down on the bones where my neck met my shoulders. The left hand one pushed first, a little downward force into my body followed by a little push higher toward my neck. Then the right thumb did the same on the same vertebrae but on the other side. I could even feel the bone shift ever so slightly inside of me, mostly by the slight lessening of the pain I was feeling, as her left thumb quickly moved down to the next bone and pushed on it as well to keep the first one aligned now back in its proper place.

She did this for each one in turn, shifting them all perhaps two or three millimeters each which may not seem like much but when they are all crunched together compressing your nerve endings you certainly recognize how much of a difference this little space makes. Each one of her touches brought a moment of increased pain that steadily got even larger the lower she went toward where the actual injury was, but with the second push of her right thumb that moment of discomfort gave way to a even greater euphoric feeling of lessening pain after that was so worth enduring.

"Now take as deep a breath as you can and hold it." Elaine said and once again I did so without argument for she obviously seemed to know what it was she was doing. I sucked it in and started to hold it when her left thumb pressed down hard on the next one in line, right where the hood ornament had caught me, and molten fire suddenly erupted all along my back and out to all my nerve endings. "Son of a…" I screamed into the heavy throw carpet but even with that noise I could hear and even feel the last link of my spine pop right back into its proper place.

"There that takes care of the alignment, now I just have to deal with the swelling." She said as I felt the pain endorphins released fully into my body. I've heard they can be as strong as morphine and at the moment I did not doubt that. My breathing became steadier and the unwounded parts of my body began to relax even faster making me feel so giddy that I almost giggled at this sense of painlessness.

In my euphoric stupor I head Elaine chanting but did not sense her drawing any substantive amount of magic into herself. Part of my mind tried to reason out what she was doing but nothing immediately came to mind based on the fog of pleasure I was in. Finally I felt her hands return to my back charged with some sort of cool, yet not cold, energy which she seemed to channel once more right on the spot where I had hurt the most. It was not any wizardly insight that had guided her actions; she had merely used the Mercedes symbol as her target.

Almost immediately the remaining pain drained away, not just got masked or became bearable, but actually drained away as I felt my body heal. Whatever Elaine did felt great, but I knew it had not required much in the way of magic. I was swept along for a few minutes by the feeling and only came back to full conscious though when I felt her weight lift off of my body. I opened one eye and saw her collapse onto the couch looking haggard as if she had just cast powerful magic.

Tentatively I began to sit up, felt no pain in those first movements, and then pushed myself fully to me knees without any discomfort and turned to look at her. She was smiling at her obvious successful results through half closed eyes. I know that exact same look and feeling well. It comes from casting a successful spell.

"What was that you did?" I asked with no disguise of the actual awe in my voice. Face it I knew having Harry for a master is cool, especially if you want to learn how to blow things up or burn them down there is no one I know better. But he was created as a magical battleship whereas I am more like a pleasure yacht. They both swim in the same water but they are not really interchangeable. What Elaine had just demonstrated was something new, something that was magically creative rather than destructive for once.

"The spine alignment was Shiatsu Massage." She said and I knew it was an oriental pressure point massage compared to the more western Swedish massage that was whole hand. Shiatsu was more closely related to acupuncture. "The second part was Reiki." She said with a bemused smile on her face and her eyes now fully closed and relaxed.

"What is that?" I asked never having come across the term in any of my studies.

"It's known in the orient as the Healing Hands." She said in slow words. "A person can focus or enhance their own internal healing or even transfer this energy to another by tapping into their…"

"Mana." I said finishing her statement as the inspiration for what she had done and how she had done it hit me. No wonder Elaine felt so drained like I had after Hisha had me use this force to power one of my illumination spells. Using mana to power a healing spell though made perfect sense.

"My teachers called the energy Chi but yes we are speaking of the very same thing." She said her eyes now opening to look at me. "Obviously you have some experience with this energy as well."

I nodded but my mind was off on other tangents. I placed this into the context of other aspects of my life and quickly figured out this is probably what the scriptures spoke of as a healing touch. It provided the ability to restore damaged parts of the body, and infuse them once more with the primal energy of life itself. This is the very force that had healed the sick, cured the blind, and cast out demons who could not abide its positive touch.

"Do you think I could learn to do this?" I asked her as she watched me with a tired smile.

"It is sensitive magic Molly." She said in confirmation to what I suspected. "With a little guidance you could probably learn to do this as well as your veils which Harry constantly raves about." She said making me blush at this first and second person compliment. "For me this type of spell is a struggle because it is not natural for me to channel that type of energy. But I could feel when I pushed the energy into you that your body seemed to know instinctively how to put it to proper use and did so without any further command from me. It is an absolutely marvelous gift you have Molly and I am envious of the potential it provides you to help others."

I thought about that and smiled. In many ways training with Harry made me feel inferior because my gifts were so different from his. I could not blast through walls or shoot great gouts of flame like he could. And in the White Council that really is how wizards rated each other.

Sure this power would not serve me well in a fight but it certainly would be damn useful after one. I now realized the full potential of how great it would be to heal the bodies, minds, and even souls of others. That last though reminded me of exactly why we were here. If anyone's soul needed healing it was my brother's and if Elaine had just shown me a means to do so then I damn well was going to do it if I could. I owed that to him for the harm I had caused. But of course first I needed to find him.

"You still up for checking out my lead on who is supplying those weapons to the Faerie Court?" I asked seeing that she had not moved much after casting this healing spell. With a groan she sat up straighter and nodded at me knowing as emissaries we were expected to do something.

"Just rest up for a bit I need to cast a tracking spell to find my brother." I said as I got up, happily pain free, and headed for the lab down in the subbasement to get one the crystals Harry stored down there specifically for this type of spell.

"Why are you looking for your brother?" Elaine's voice called after me but I was already making my way down the stairs and did not want to try and hold a conversation by shouting, not when I knew I'd be right back and we could do it face to face.

I also did not bother illuminating the whole workshop up by lighting any more candles but relied instead on the minimal light streaming in from upstairs and of course my familiarity of where Harry stored things to guide me right to them. I admit I almost freaked out when I caught a glimpse of that stupid skull that Harry calls Bob sitting on its shelf because of the odd way light seems to glow in its eyes if hit from just the right angle. Like I have said before Harry is rather odd about some things and the skull is just one manifestation of this. I grabbed one of the crystals from out of the Tupperware container that held them, not really caring about which color this would turn out to be, and headed back up the stairs.

Elaine had settled back into the couch once more gathering her strength but her eyes were wide open and focused on the crystal in my hand. "You said we have to look for your brother?" She asked again as if I would have forgotten so quickly. I got to give her this she is persistent when she is looking for answers.

"Yeah he is gifted in metal working." I explained as I pulled his comb out of my pocket and sat down Indian style in front of her. "He started a new job recently to help pay my father's medical bills and his new boss seems to think it is normal to be paying him in ancient gold coins. Maeve offered me similar ones as her agent today also." I explained.

"I also found a newly made steel or iron dagger hidden in his room that was stamped with his initials." I said wishing I had thought to bring it along instead of leaving it in his room. It really would have come in handy but I was too focused on my pain to be thinking that clearly at the time. "While none of this is absolute guaranteed proof of his involvement with these weapon shipments I'd have to say it certainly seems a good possibility considering how conveniently all of these pieces fit together."

"I would in fact be surprised to find out he wasn't based upon what you have just told me." Elaine agreed. "The Faerie Courts like to focus on the family members of people they have an underlying interest in. It usually provides them some sort of leverage over their actual target."

"Yeah I figured it was likely something like that." I said as I wrapped a few strands of Daniel's hair around the crystal and tied them off. That is not as easy to do as it might sound both because of how tiny they are to manipulate and the desire not to break them pulling the knot tight. I also had to loop a leather strap around the center of the crystal too so that it could swing freely and point us toward Daniel's location.

"Then you understand that their interest in him is to give them leverage over you." She said to which I merely nodded and stayed focused on my task at hand. "Or to indirectly provide them even further leverage over Harry." That of course gave me pause.

While a small part of me liked to think I was the one who was of interest to whatever powers were behind this plot I knew that Elaine's second declaration was more likely the correct one in this case. The Fae had been interested in Harry for a long time, especially those of the Winter Court. The fact that Harry had already hung himself out on a limb with his own White Council for one of the Carpenter children was a detail they would have been interested in. Who's to say that the Fae had not learned from this example and decided to use this proven method to get what they wanted from him as well? Could this whole attack upon the Summer Court merely have been a means to draw Harry fully into their clutches? Of course then that meant my presence here as Winter's Emissary threw an unexpected wrench into these plans. Unless, that is, they now planned to use me as bait as well.

"Probably, but we are talking about my brother so it's not like I can ignore the situation." I said tossing that concern to the side and believing that everything would take care of itself if I stuck to my responsibilities. From the corner of my eye I could see that Elaine literally bit her lip to stifle off any response she planned to make.

I cast the tracking spell as I had been trained by Harry to do and my genetic bond with my brother combined with my sensitive magic to make the spell that much stronger for me than any other I had cast before. I could not only sense the direction Daniel lay but I also knew roughly how far away he was as well. Most importantly I could also sense that he was underground at the moment too, deep underground.

I turned to look at Elaine. "You are not claustrophobic are you?" I asked her understanding what this almost assuredly meant.

"A little, why?" She responded.

"Because I think we are headed to Undertown." I said standing up smoothly and gracefully from my crossed legged seat. That Reiki stuff really works and I had to get her to teach it to me.

"What is Undertown?" She asked me hesitantly.

"It's like another whole city beneath the streets of Chicago." I explained as I tried to think of what I should bring along if heading underground. I'd have to start with my glow stick powered flashlight that I had invented. It was really nothing more elaborate than removing the batteries and switch component from a real flashlight and stuffing activated glow sticks into the chamber but the light it created and shaped with the plastic lens was almost as strong as the battery operated kind of flashlight so served my purpose well.

"You mean the sewer system?" She asked disturbing my planning process with her questions.

"No." I said. "The sewers occasionally provide access but Undertown is really a combination of older tunnels like the ones the University of Chicago used when building the A Bomb and lots of older buildings that have sunk into the ground over the centuries this city has stood here." Okay Harry also said there are a lot of nasties from the Nevernever that hang out down there also so I need something as a deterrent. Of course he had explained their existence as a deterrent against me going there but I figured he had never counted on me going after family on a rescue mission so he would eventually understand. But faced with things from the Nevernever I guess a couple of boxes of iron tacks for things chasing me and that small iron crowbar Harry keeps in the basement for thing in front of me would serve my purposes.

"Wait a minute." Elaine said. "You are telling me that entire buildings sink into the ground in Chicago and no one notices or cares?" She asked me with a tone of unbelief I had heard and even uttered before myself.

"It doesn't happen all at once." I said. "Well occasionally I guess it does happen all at once but those are the exception to the general rule. Chicago was built on a swamp so the building and roads around here sink a little bit every year which is why people don't really notice this is happening. They just sort of build another level on top of the existing ones and go about their business." I explained matter-of-factly hoping she would let me concentrate on the more important matters at hand.

I looked over longingly at _Fidelacchius_ sitting on the mantle and wished I could bring it along. The Sword of Faith would be a great asset but until I was approved to wield it I could do more harm than good by taking it along. But that did not mean I couldn't bring my own training sword along. While it was only made of wood I knew it had limited versatility, but I suspected that Elaine might agree that beating on someone or something with even a dull sword is better than no weapon at all. And hey it would be a handy wooden stake for a Black Court vampire if we crossed paths too.

"How can people not notice their entire city is sinking? Are you people in Chicago totally nuts or what?" Elaine asked me while now to the point of sitting on the edge of the couch and waving her arms around. I guess she was more than a little claustrophobic and this was bothering her. I was sorry for that but I had not selected my brother's location or made her the Summer Emissary so it's not like any of this was my fault.

"You mean like how people fail to also notice zombies, vampires, and magical battles that take place in the city streets around them?" I asked sarcastically with an overblown smile for emphasis of my point before I went to collect the various items now on my mental list. Seeing her mouth hanging agape and moving to try and offer a reasonable counterpoint to my argument was actually funny.

While I was also back in the subbasement I picked up a few of the universal reliable items every wizard should carry that Harry always bragged about. This included a few sticks of thick playground chalk in various neon colors, he had gotten them at a back to school sale at Walmart two months ago, salt, always good for a quick protective circle against the undead, and finally a couple sports bottles filled with my favorite energy drink. It was not as good as an actual magic potion of endurance but the mortal drink stayed potent for months compared to just a single week so I traded convenience for a reduction in power.

I made it back up the stairs and found Elaine standing in the same spot I had left her in with most of the same look of confusion on her face, sans the big mouth bass imitation. "Would you mind driving so I can focus on the tracking spell?" I asked her as I placed everything into my backpack for easy carry. Faerie clothes as scant on convenient deep pockets it seems.

"Sure why not?" She responded with a resigned sigh as we headed out the apartment door. This time I opened and closed it just to prove to myself that I was back in full form.

We did not talk much on the first part of the drive except for me to offer directions of when to turn and so forth. I made it look like I was heavily concentrating on the tracking spell but in truth I was really trying to hide the fact that I could sense how scared Elaine was by our destination. It would not have taken a sensitive wizard to see that they way she gripped the steering wheel so tight that her knuckles had turned white from a lack of blood flow meant she was dealing with internal emotional issues. Of course being a sensitive gave me an even deeper insight into what she was feeling. It was nothing less than pure unbridled terror combined with a hint of panic and the only thing holding her together at the moment seemed to be the remaining shreds of her pride in desiring not to fall apart in front of me.

I originally hoped that as we drove if I let her brood on her own issues she would be able to get a grip on herself, grow stronger, and push these fears down. But as I watched it seemed that the exact opposite seemed to be happening within her. I noted her eyes began to dart around in all directions, like a scared animal looking for an escape route, but when she caught me staring she tried to cover this up by comments about the different traffic styles of Chicago drivers. Finally when I sensed she was going to break I figured that maybe talking was the better solution that letting her brood. That and of course I had magic at my disposal as well. Hell she had healed my body an hour ago so it's only fair to return the favor.

"So Elaine you said you are a little claustrophobic." I started figuring no reason to beat around the bush but at the same time I pushed gently calming thoughts away from me and toward her. "Is there some sort of story behind this that I should be aware of?"

The normal person would have probably have shrugged the comment off as a means to not look even weaker but that type of action did not fit Elaine's profile. Instead she seemed happy to open the tap and let it all come tumbling out in a rush.

"Remember I told you yesterday that DuMorne had made me his thrall." She said as she drove on into the night and I tried to lend her spirit strength. "What I did not fully explain was that the process he used to do this involved magically inspired fear. He cast a series of spells upon me that brought my deepest fears to the forefront of my mind while at the same time proclaiming himself as my only possible savior. It's probably similar to the way the Red Court saliva works. It attracts you to them even though in deep in your mind you know they want to kill you. I do not have a full memory of these events, or at least my conscious mind has blocked them all away, but when I fall asleep I still get glimpses of them."

I wanted to say something supportive but the fact that she was telling me how the fear he had instilled within her to break her will was still causing her night terrors and mental anguish two decades later was like a condemnation on my own actions with my friends. I wondered if this is what it was like today for Nelson and Rosie, my own friends that I no longer had time for that I had broken with magical fear also. And I wondered if this is what life was like for Daniel as well.

"The problem with magically induced fear is that there is no way to ignore it." She continued to explain. "I'm claustrophobic only because some of DuMonte's evil dreams had me slowly sinking quicksand, or trapped in a dark metal box, or the worst one I remember was being buried alive inside my own coffin." She said with a visible shudder. The good news was that talking about it combined with my mental influences seemed to be bringing her back from the edge of panic. The bad news was it was her story was doing nothing for my own self esteem.

"Claustrophobia was of course only one of his mental tortures, though I think I was more susceptible to that one than many of the others." She said trying to smile. "I have similar issues with open spaces, heights, darkness, you name it."

"But you seem to be able to control these things. Hell I've seen and felt you fight me when I sucker punched you yesterday instead of fleeing or collapsing." I said hoping to give her more strength as I boosted the security and confidence vibes a bit.

"Not really. I fought because fleeing was not really an option. Had you not been between me and the door, or had a good shot at my back while I tried to pry open Harry's stupid door I'd have run away as quickly as possible." She said. "I'm really a complete basket case. I've talked to four shrinks and all of them suggested I check myself into a facility where I can get proper rest and treatment for my fears."

"Maybe that would actually help you." I offered and tried to sound supportive rather than judgmental.

She turned and looked at me. "Do you really think a person with claustrophobia does well in a straight jacket?" She actually tried to make a joke which I took as a positive sign, but while we both smiled at it neither of us really found it funny.

"Is it getting better over time? Do you think you are mastering it?" I asked hoping that the old saying about time heals all wounds was a correct one in her case.

"Not really." She said. "In truth those are only the situational fears. For the most part I conqueror them by avoiding these types of situations completely, except in cases like this one. I have a whole series of other fears that make those look easy to deal with by comparison." She offered me as she turned left where I pointed.

"What else is there?" I asked trying to add some light humor to the situation. "Ladders? Black cats? The number thirteen?"

This time it was her polite smile at my bad joke. "No more like people in general and specifically those in any position of authority." She explained as she pulled the car to a stop in the parking lot I had directed her to.

"You mean people like the White Council." I voiced aloud and she nodded. Not that I blamed her for this particular phobia mind you. It's hard not to find a group of old men and women who want to cut your head off as an example to others not to be rated as just slightly over authoritative compared to your average Walmart greeter. "I understand." I said.

"I doubt it." She responded. "Do you know I have not opened up and been intimate with anyone since before DuMorne basically raped my mind?" She said with a chilling tone.

"You're kidding." I said. "You have not had sex in more than twenty years?"

"No I said I have been unable to open myself up to anyone." She answered. "I have had sex a few times but it ended up being more of going through the motions than actually enjoying it. And if the man took charge I tended to nearly freeze up. In part that is why I sought Harry out. I was hoping…" Her voice trailed off.

"You were hoping an old lover could connect you with that part of yourself once more. Maybe that was the key you needed to get your life back together" I finished for her and she merely nodded.

"But then I saw that picture he kept of Susan and the way he loved her and I could not go through with it." She said. "I could not try and put him in that type of situation. I cannot do that to him, bring all that baggage, after all the harm I caused him when we were kids."

"So see you are not afraid of everything." I tried to comfort her. "You put Harry's emotions ahead of your own."

"No I didn't." She countered. "I looked at the way he loved her, remembered it was the way he had loved me. I immediately realized that if I tried and he rejected me that I would be completely crushed. When all you really have left is hope you try not to lose that too."

There was really not much that I could say in response to a statement like that. We sat for a moment in silence as I considered what Daniel might also be going through and wondered if his life was every bit as terrible as Elaine claimed her own to be. I hoped it was not because from an outsider's point of view Daniel was the high school senior that every guy wanted to be. He was the top athlete and even currently dating a college cheerleader. For teenage boys it really does not get any better than that.

But had someone asked me a day ago I would have though Elaine's life to be a pretty cool deal also. She stayed out of the attention of the White Council, something I might have killed to be able to do myself, had her magic, and was running the Paranet organization that Harry had set up for lower powered individuals with the magical gift. Physically she was still relatively beautiful and I had even heard Carlos, the west coast Warden counterpart to Harry, had asked her out numerous times. She had told him no which led me to believe that her tastes ran even higher than arguable one of the hottest beefcake Wardens of all time.

Now though I was seeing that all I thought about Elaine's life was totally wrong. Where I thought I knew a confident and strong wizard, in reality she was a fear beleaguered woman who saw herself with few prospects and was plagued by the nightmares from a mentally abused adolescence. If that was Elaine then how wrong could I be about my brother Daniel?

"Is this the place?" Elaine asked me drawing my attention back to the here and now.

I looked at the crystal in my hand and saw it was pointing more downward than straight ahead now making me sure we would be making our way into the Undertown somewhere around here. I turned my eyes out the windshield of her car and saw the sign on the building directly in front of us was confirmation that the driving part of our journey had indeed come to an end. It read simply: University of Chicago, Department of Physics. Sixty years ago in the tunnels beneath this building the greatest minds of the time accomplished what only God had done before them; they had determined how to split the atom.

"This is it." I acknowledged and stepped out of the car. I was happy to note that Elaine followed suit with almost no hesitation. While her emotions said she was hardly pleased with what we had before us to do, I was no longer afraid she was going to freeze up or flee on me either.

I held the crystal up in front of me and it pointed me not toward the main entrance before us but instead around the side of the building to a pair of steel doors that had once covered the coal chute where the old steam system for the building had kept the facility warm. There was a metal crossbar welded across these doors supposedly to secure them for safety sake, but a closer examination showed that this bar had been sliced neatly through by something that had left a gap no larger than the thickness of a fingernail. If a person were not actively looking for it they would never know the doors were still serviceable.

I looked around to assure myself there was no one in sight. I did not think letting college students see an entrance to the Undertown was a good idea as a place for a convenient make out session. Satisfied no one was around I pulled open the right hand door for Elaine to step through and closed it as we both made our way down the steps. It was pitch black with the door shut so I fumbled around in my backpack until I found my glow stick flashlight and aimed its beam down the well trod steps.

"I'm glad you decided not to use fire." Elaine said noting the walls of the small room we were in. "All this old coal dust would likely explode if exposed to flame." She said. That was a new one for me. I thought coal merely burned like charcoal briquettes in a grill. So fire spells were out of my arsenal until we cleared this room at least.

The positive side to the coal dust on everything though was that it allowed us to see the trail of footprints leading from the chute through a gap in the wall that led down a dark tunnel. Most of these prints were thankfully human shaped and the majority wearing sneakers though at least one set was barefoot. There were some outliers though in the group. At least one set had been made by some sort of webbed foot, another set was generally human shaped but at least two feet in length, and finally a trail of what looked like dried slime such as a slug would make was also evident, providing of course that the slug in question were at least four feet tall that is. Did I mention Undertown is not a place for the faint of heart?

The broken passage through the wall deposited us into what appeared to be some of the brick walled tunnels that had served as a science lab six decades ago. While the coal remains were confined to the previous room enough dust had been left on the shoes of some of those who passed through, and the owner of the two foot long feet, to show us which of the three tunnels branching off to proceed down next. This was of course further magically confirmed by my seeking crystal.

The glow stick flashlight was very effective in showing us what lay down the direction we were headed and some pretty disgusting piles of things lying in the tunnel to avoid as well. I will not sicken you with accurate details on how bad some parts of this underground pathway smelled but suffice to say I really missed the Irish Spring fresh soap smell of the Summer Court at that moment.

Thankfully there was nothing lurking in the darkness waiting to jump out at us. Elaine did keep her taser chain ready and I had my own shield bracelet hand raised and ready to cast if the need arose. But other than some old cobwebs in the highest corners of these passageways they were all free from anything dangerous that either of us could sense.

The tunnel did hook hard to the left at one point and after this turn I could see further down that a light of some sort was burning brightly. It had to be fairly intense based on the distance involved so it was obviously not someone just holding a candle or a flashlight. I figured a burning forge though might be pretty bright so with a silent nod between us we continued on directly toward the light, following the crystal that pointed right at its glowing heart.

Still thirty yards away there was now so much light that I felt safe to cover my flashlight and put it away. I figured there was no reason announcing our presence if someone happened to glance up this tunnel and see our light. I could also tell that the glow ahead was coming out of a fairly sizable room or chamber ahead and that there were at least two voices alternately speaking to each other though I could only hear their mumbling, not actually make out any of the words they said.

We each separated to opposites sides of the tunnel and used the little patches of darkness along the walls to help to hide us. I considered throwing down a veil as an added precaution but I did not want to waste magic or tire myself out when I might require my strength more later.

Elaine stumbled over a loose stone just before we reach the opening in the room and one of the pair of voices from inside rose in seeming response. I could not make out everything that was said but I was certain the word 'check' had been part of the sentence. Well if something was coming to check out the corridor maybe it was better if we surprised them by stepping into the room first. Harry always said the first seconds of combat are usually the most decisive so there was no reason to give away our element of surprise.

With a quick nod to Elaine I rushed the entrance to the chamber and jumped though. "Ha!" I said because I really could not come up with what the correct phrase to use when jumping out of the darkness at someone you did not know is except for 'ha!'

Yeah that element of surprise really only lasts for an instant, and it can be shortened even further when you find yourself facing something you were totally unprepared for; or for that matter two somethings. The first was a troll, a rather big troll, nine feet tall at least, though thankfully he was sitting down at the present moment and not coming toward us. I realized in that instant it had been his two foot long footsteps I had observed in the coal bin but been unable to identify until now. Yeah I really got to get Harry to teach me tracking or some other way to figure out such things before I almost end up tripping over them in the future; providing of course I had a future.

The second individual though was even more surprising than a nine foot troll, which I must admit is a pretty good trick in and of itself. He was a short, bald man of oriental features and wearing an orange robe. He turned from staring at the chess pieces laid out on the table before him and looked at me just as the troll's head swung my way and flashed a rather sinister set of long sharp teeth in my direction also.

"Ah here is the girl I have been telling you about." Hisha said with a smile and seemingly calm word to the troll grinning at us.


	11. Chapter 11

**Semper Fidelis**

**_Chapter 11_**

One of the rare advantages of not being as powerful in a combat sense as Harry is that when faced with a bad situation, oh let's say just for conversation sake falling into a web of betrayal and facing a nine foot flesh eating troll, that I do not have at my disposal the ability to point a magic rune carved blasting rod at the world and knock my enemies through a wall with a column of super-heated flame. Sure such abilities certainly have their uses at times much like this one, but really what fun is there in that? But Molly it might save your life you say. Sure I agree, but think of how much Harry misses not feeling that adrenaline rush of certain death. I mean come on, I bet at the amusement park he is afraid to ride the roller coasters, you know if they actually worked for a wizard. Not me! I loved a challenge. And hopefully you readers are able to decipher thick sarcasm when you read it.

The only advantage not having Harry's skill allows me is that on exceedingly rare occasions the slower approach allows me the opportunity to take a better review of my opponents before I start blasting.

Oh sure the average wizard would see a troll and jump right to the combat because let's face it trolls are just mean and nasty. Nine feet tall is not the largest of their kind of course but still it's pretty respectable to someone only two thirds its height. Add to that inhumanly superior strength, which everything nasty from the Nevernever seems to have at their disposal, a rubbery type of skin that seems to absorb and therefore ignore most physical blows, and of course wicked teeth and claws that have been known to sheer through rock or thin metal sheeting like the sides of cars as if it were a beer can. All in all with this you have a pretty formidable foe to the average wizard and an almost insurmountable one to a mere apprentice of sensitive magic.

And this is not even counting the complication in this situation of a rather powerful figure of faith magic, or whatever they call that power. There is no way around the fact that I was serious outclassed, even accounting for having Elaine standing next to me. She is of course more of a magical brawler than I am and having come through the doorway right behind me and seen the troll for herself I could feel her gathering magic to her for an attack, probably one of her lightning bolts, at the first sign of hostile intentions.

But being both a sensitive wizard and having an actual private investigator for a master provided me unique skill and vast insight that the average combat wizard likely would not have at their disposal. First there was my highly trained power of observation that Harry had drilled into me by making me tell him the current time and other vastly difficult tasks; more sarcasm. In this case it allowed me to see that the terrible and fearsome troll was dressed in a rather impressive tailored wool three button double breasted suit. For those of you unfamiliar with trolls let me merely state this is highly suspicious attire and behavior for the average ravenous, flesh eating monster, so we in the wizard business call this a 'clue' that something odd was at play here.

Second as a sensitive mage I could feel absolutely no hostility being directed toward either of us from either of them. In fact if anything the odd pair before us I now saw that were playing chess seemed both pleased and relieved at our arrival as if they had been expecting us, and not for the reasons of a quick snack like most trolls. I held my hand out to Elaine to signal for her not to do anything rash and felt her agree and let some, but not all, of the tension and magic flow free from her body.

Hisha smiled and this and nodded his head slightly before turning back to the game and the troll sitting across from him. "It is your move of great Gronk." He said with a hint of laughter in his voice as if we had proven a key point or settled a bet.

"After all these centuries I do not know why it is that you feel the need to continue to use that childish acronym instead of my proper name." The troll said in flawless English with just a touch of a London accent if my ear and still stunned mind could be trusted. At this point I was not exactly sure what I was seeing so all my other senses were placed in the highly skeptical category as well.

He moved one of his pieces forward with a gleam of malice in his eyes, though one obviously contained to just the board before him. "Checkmate in thirty-four moves." He said with a sense of obvious satisfaction. The fact that someone once told me the first ten turns in chess had something like two million potential combinations I did not even want to begin to think how a troll, creatures not known for their intellect, could see out thirty-four moves. It sort of put my whole belief system in question.

"I was distracted by the poor quality of wool of your suit to offer you a decent game of Shah Mat! this day" Hisha said in response with an obviously laugh as if knowing this was going to evoke a further response from his opponent. "Besides with guests it is time for tea and serious business not for playing games." He stood up with a bow of resignation to the troll and then made another to us of welcoming I sensed and went over to the large gas stove and lit a burner to place an old battered copper kettle on the stove.

"I'll have you know this is an Anderson and Sheppard of Savoy street in London suit made personally for me from the finest virgin wool of Scotland you orange bed sheet wearing heathen." The troll called after Hisha in fake indignation and with an obvious chuckle in his voice that bespoke this was an ongoing game between the two of them for some time. "And Vibhishana you have not offered me a challenging game of Shah Mat! is more than two centuries so blaming our guests' arrival is hardly an honest answer for a holy man who speaks only the truth."

"You wound me old friend." Hisha replied. "And even after I willingly consent to make your that poor slop that you call tea."

"I'll have you know Earl Grey is considered the pinnacle of teas by true connoisseurs." The troll replied not rising further to the bait. "And you do not even use cream like a civilized human being so do not speak to me that you are any expert on the subject.

"That is perhaps true of you johnny come latelys as far as tea is concerned. The fact that it was brought to your lands by that heathen Marco Polo who claimed to understand the cultural pleasantries required of offering such a drink. My people were drinking it two thousand years before the arrival of his so called quest for discovery. What did he think we were all standing around waiting for some hairy westerner to come discover us?" Hisha bantered back. "There are more than three thousand strains of tea in India alone yet you dare to offer your single English type as the pinnacle of these? Your arrogance in such things ill becomes you."

"At least we westerners know well enough to make formal introductions when visitors come to call." The troll smiled and winked toward Elaine and I showing this banter was all in good fun. "You probably were all standing around in confusion until Marco Polo taught you how to make an introduction so you could talk to each other in a civilized manner."

"Ah, you are correct." Hisha said turning away from the copper pot and china tea set in obvious embarrassment and hurried back over to us bowing gracefully as the troll stood up slowly and followed in his wake. While nine feet of troll is not something to take lightly I have to admit the cut of his obviously tailored suit did much to cage the 'oh my god he's going to eat our spleens' fears from reaching my lips and embarrassing me as the formal introductions were carried out.

"I offer my humblest of apologies to the both of you for my lack of manners." Hisha said to Elaine and I again while bowing. "I fear I have been too long away from true civilization that I have forgotten the proper role of a host." He raised his head with a smile.

"They say at your age the mind is the first thing to go. Or is it the second? Oh course being a monk and all…" The troll whispered just loud enough for all of us to hear.

"Hush now and allow me to introduce the emissaries." He said with a tad of annoyance like one brother would for another. I could sense Elaine, like myself, had no desire to jump into the conversation at the moment as was quite happy to let the two banter on as we tried to play catch up in our mind of just what was going on here.

"Welcome distinguished guests and Emissaries of the Winter and Summer Courts." Hisha said displaying that he obviously knew more about both of us than a mild mannered Buddhist monk was likely to.

"May I present to you as well my distinguished friend Gr…" His hand made a sweeping motion toward the well dressed troll standing beside him who gave out a low rumble of warning as Hisha began to speak his abbreviated name. "...My apologies…my distinguished friend Lord Gerald Rudolpho Orikain Nicolai Kline…the Emissary of the Wyldfae and personal advisor to the Erlking." He said and the troll bowed with a flourish at the waist that some of the elves of Summer Court would be hard pressed to match in grace. He certainly defined grace like no other creature I had ever encountered.

"I call him Gronk so as to shorten that ridiculously pompous name of his." Hisha said just as the troll was just at the lowest point of the bow. Lord Kline finished his bow in a dignified manner but shot daggers of hate from his eyes at Hisha for this apparent long running insult but it did not let that stop him from acting the very example of gentlemanly manners.

"It is my extreme pleasure to make the acquaintance of the Summer Queen Emissary." He said taking Elaine's hand daintily in his own before she knew to even resist as I sensed she wanted to and then kissing the back of it with just a touch of his lips. "I have long heard wonderful things of the beautiful human woman the great and fearsome Abagalesidhe willingly trained to call upon the power of storms nearly as well as the Summer Handmaiden herself." Elaine was struck speechless not only by the kiss but the troll's apparent knowledge of her and merely nodded slowly as a polite courtier might do. The the troll lord took this as permission to move on to me.

"Ah and that makes you by the power of elimination the mysterious Miss Molly Carpenter, the newest Winter Court Emissary." The way he rolled the three M words off his lips like a tongue twister seemed to be a personal joke with him.

The troll followed suit and kissed the back of my hand as he had Elaine's. It was not exactly and uncomfortable experience but felt a little like wet rubber brushed across my skin. "We in the Wyldfae know almost nothing of you beyond your apprenticeship to a great wizard who has garnered the respect of our king. It was specifically to meet, appraise, and learn more of you that I was sent here for first impressions of your own exploits are nearly too fanciful to believe as truth. Thankfully Vibhishana was kind enough to provide me his own impressions and while he is a terrible Shah Mat opponent, his judgments of people tend to be reliable." The troll smiled with politeness but a mouth full of razor sharp shark teeth was still a bit disturbing; even more so with how impossibly white he kept them.

"I am please to meet your acquaintance as well Lord Kline." I said. "You must excuse our shock for we were unprepared for such an encounter. The stories of your kind usually involve numerous references to them devouring people like us so it may take Elaine and I a moment or two to come to grips that you are not here to eat us."

The troll laughed, sort of a coughing type affair, but waved off my apology. "Think nothing of it I am often beset by such racial and prejudicial profiling because of others of my breed who act exact exactly as you say." He stepped back so I did not have to strain my neck nearly so much looking up to his face. "In fact to get this suit made I had to explain to my tailors that you humans taste like chicken." He said with his wolfish smile. "And I absolutely abhor the taste of chicken!"

That last was just the right stroke to break the tension both Elaine and I were feeling and we laughed, not merely politely as one might a joke you did not actually find funny, but instead a full out belly laugh that swept away the majority of our fears and concerns. This honest response pleased the troll and made Hisha shake his head as well though I could see an honest smile on the old man's face.

"Barbarians." He said with a smile and turning back to check the temperature of the tea pot now that all our introductions had been properly accomplished.

"You must excuse Vibhishana." The troll responded. "He gets like this every time he loses as Shah Mat!"

"Vibhishana?" I asked for clarification.

"Shah Mat!" Elaine asked at the exact same moment leaving the troll with two questions but only one mouth by which to answer.

I was standing slightly closer so selected to respond to me first. "Let me guess he shortened his name to Hisha when you met?" He asked me to which I merely nodded. "He prefers to be lazy where names are concern, like using my initials to call me Gronk for example. That and of course he does not like it when people recognize his great achievements."

I looked at him askew. "Um, I have never heard of anyone called Vibhishana." I said embarrassed at this obvious gap in what the troll at least considered an important subject. And when a nine foot troll finds something important I suggest you do as well to humor him, regardless if he is wearing a Savoy Street suit or not.

"No should you most definitely should not have. It is an old story, unworthy of being repeated in modern times and should be relegated to the forgotten or at least myth." Hisha's voice called out to us with embarrassment from over by the stove.

"You must excuse him but he also lacks the ability to accept deserved pride." Lord Kline replied. "But I think if you asked him nicely Molly he would tell you the tale. He told me that he likes what he sees in you."

With that as an encouragement I went off to do just what the troll suggested. Let me point out that in a similar circumstance when doing what a nine foot troll asks of you and it does not lead to violence is probably a good thing. I will say this it is certainly a rarity in my own limited experiences.

Lord Kline turned back to Elaine. "Shah Mat! is the original term for the game we in the West call chess. It translates as 'The King is Dead.'" I could feel his emotions of innocent intrigue building up. "Could I perhaps convince you to play as we talk?" He said pointing to the board still set up from the conceded game. "I have only had this poor Buddhist monk for an opponent for the past century so another person's insights would be a rare delight and challenge." I turned to see that Elaine, like me, took the opportunity to merely nod her head, not wanting to offend our host, even if he claimed that he did not like chicken tasting humans.

I wandered over to where Hisha was working on making the tea using the old style tradition of placing actual leaves in the bottom of each cup before adding the hot water to the cup. I sensed that he was slightly uncomfortable at my interest but was otherwise very much what he appeared to be, an old man at peace with the world around him.

"Vibhishana?" I asked with a little bit of inquiry in my voice since that seemed appropriate. My dealings with older men as of late, something becoming an odd pattern for me, gave me the insight that a pleasant smile and a timid approach was likely to be the best way to open doors that they wished better remained closed.

"It is merely an old name I carried in days long past and nothing that a young wizard need to waste her time or concern herself with compared to far more worthy topics." He said trying to deter me from my inquiry. But that of course merely made me that much more interested.

"You know I seem to recall something in my reading about someone from India…" I said, well actually I bold faced lied. I had never heard this name before but I made a fair assumption that the way Lord Kline spoke of it with a sense of reverence that there probably was a story or two out there and it obviously was from the general area of India anyway. And if I knew anything it is that most people did not like the way history portrays them and given the option one much prefers to provide the true story themselves. The only thing worse to some people than talking about themselves it seemed was having someone else talk about them and be wrong when they did so.

The way he looked and then sighed shaking his head made me certain that I was onto something. He made a comment under his breath about the stubbornness of an inquisitive young mind as he poured the boiling water into the cups and carried them back to the table motioning with his eyes that I was to follow if I wanted to hear the story. Sadly for Elaine it appears her troll opponent had already checkmated her and from the few number of pieces moved on her side of the board I had to assume he had done so in less than a dozen moves. Our timely arrival with tea served as reason enough to clear the table and ignore the defeat.

Once we were all seated and the pure honey offered to sweeten our tea Hisha turned to Elaine and I in turn who sat opposite each other and started to speak. "Are either of you fine young ladies familiar with the stories of the Rakshasa?"

I of course was not but the sudden glimmer in Elaine's eyes said that she obviously was. "If I recall from my studies they were a race of demon-bred beings in ancient India I believe." She said straining to pull forth the information from her memory. "I believe they were described as tiger like, though that of course could simply be translated fierce beasts since the tiger was considered the most dangerous predator in that land."

If I recall the stories correctly they were also supposed to be natural masters of illusion which they would use to trap their prey with comforting images of loved ones or some such." She continued as Hisha sat patiently and merely nodded at each fact she mined from her memory. "Last I think they were also said to eat the flesh of humans as well which is said for just about every such dangerous creature." Wow she did know quite a bit about the subject. She looked at the troll in embarrassment as she said the last part but Lord Kline only smiled as he looked at her.

"What do you expect me to say?" He repeated his coughing laugh. "I already told you that your kind tastes like chicken. Do I need to don a white suit and open my own franchise called Kentucky Fried Children?"

"Do not be crass." Hisha scolded. "Though at least the image of you in a proper suit, even white, is something to consider as a definite improvement for you current look."

"Great now I am getting fashion advice from a man Ramada hotels always want to bill extra at checkout for stealing their linens." The troll fired back in obvious practice making both Elaine and I giggle in probably a less dignified manner than a Faerie Emissary is supposed to.

Hisha ignore the barb and turned to look at Elaine to continue the original conversation. "I would offer one simple correction that for ancient humans everything that was scary and not also human was by definition called a demon as you had a rather limited vocabulary but otherwise your description is quite accurate." He nodded and sipped on his tea but I did not miss his word of 'you' when discussing humans rather than 'we.' That queer choice of wording was all the warning I got. In a blink of an eye the old bald man I knew as Hisha was no longer sitting at the table beside me but instead there was a humanoid black and white colored tiger right where the monk had been still sipping on the same fragile tea cup in his now great oversized paws.

To his credit Hisha had obviously waited to perform this transformation when neither Elaine nor I were holding our tea, and for his own part the great troll did not seem the least bit surprised or even that interested in the change that had come over his friend. By my warning I merely scooted a little back in my seat at this display but Elaine nearly fell over backwards as she scrambled to put some distance between them. It was only the excessively long reach of the troll's arms and the surprisingly fast reflexes of Lord Kline that kept the table from falling over or any of the tea from spilling.

Hisha had been extremely careful not to move or even to follow Elaine's retreat with his eyes. I could sense her fear thanks to my gifts but I had the impression he could as well, much like any predator knew how to read the emotions of potential prey I suppose. "I will request your forgiveness for the theatrics but I have learned over the centuries that there is no gain in prolonging this revelation through further discussion. One either openly accepts this display to move the conversation forward or they grab torches to scream for my death." He said with a hint of a smile.

At this point he did turn to look directly at Elaine who seemed balanced between these two options. "If you will indulge me the same courtesy as Lord Kline I would also state that during my one experience of eating human flesh as a child I found the taste more akin to dog due to its stringy texture than chicken as my illustrious colleague claims. Perhaps it is for this reason that I became a strict vegetarian more than three millennia ago." He said carefully turning his face back to the table and slowly sipping on the piping hot tea. The next step would be for Elaine to decide on which course to take.

Elaine's indecision relaxed a little bit more with each breath she took as she calmed and I carefully kept my eyes away so as to not make her feel any shame for what was a perfectly reasonable reaction based upon the types of things she had dealt with in her life. Once more she took a deep breath and nodded before she came back to the table. He lips opened obviously preparing to apologize for her reaction but Hisha held up a hand, well okay a paw, and shook his head to say that was unnecessary.

"Now that you have seen for yourself I will resume the guise you are more comfortable with so that we might better discuss subjects of mutual interest without distraction such as how good I might look laid out before your roaring fireplace." He said with a tiger smile and in a blink once more he was the same elderly looking monk I had come to expect. The fact that this illusion was so fast and without any conscious thought or command on his part that I could perceive was truly impressive to me.

"For a priest you are still too much a fan of these theatrics. It is unbecoming of a servant of God." Lord Kline said lifting the teapot and refilling all of our cups with a well practiced sense of grace.

"The greatest of God's servants have always relied upon theatrics?" Hisha replied back. "Let them see you building a big ark in your backyard and the first drops of rain become a flood!"

"Before we end up insulting the almighty I think perhaps you should provide the emissaries your own history my friend so we can get on to the greater purposes that brings all of us together." The troll still smiled but seemed to decide it was now time to stop talking of shoes and ships and ceiling wax, of cabbages and kings. "With your revelation they will need to know it all now or they will likely be too distracted by their own speculations to focus properly on the issues at hand."

Hisha sighed and nodded his head accepting this was the wisest course of action. "As I said humans have called my kind demons because of our fearsome appearance and because many of my kind are self centered, power hungry, and as greedy as true demons, or as…well as many of you humans are also." He said with a laugh.

"But that is not an accurate description of you obviously." I said keeping the conversation on a proper track and getting a hint of a smile and a stealthy wink from the troll.

"No I have never been one for material wealth or a desire for power." He admitted plainly without judgment of those who differed on this. "From a young age I merely wanted to study faith at God's feet and be graced with the holy sight to know the beauty of the world as the creator sees it." Not exactly a modest goal, but certainly not one very self promoting as I figured it. I had a feeling Hisha would get along well with Father Forthill.

"As is the nature of both our races, the Raksasha and human, war came to our peoples as my kind sought domination over your own. While I had no part in this decision, or a desire to gain personally at the expense of others, and because I find no glory in such foolish battle that need not be fought, I chose to merely continue my prayers and studies and ignore the war. I naively thought to leave material things for those more suited to their allure and that they would leave me the same way." His words were strong and decisive though filled with obvious pain.

"As our illusions do not work among our kind, I went among yours dressed as a simply holy man offering my services, skills, or just an honest day of labor in exchange for food and shelter." He explained. "I tried to avoid those places where the war was fiercest but India is not truly so large a place and the villages all tended to hug the rivers during this age so my options were limited. I reached one village that would one day be called Bombay by the English invaders, but Mumbai was its traditional name for more than two thousand years before that. I found to my disappointment that I had arrived in the midst of preparing for a war strike of their own. Disliking such needless violence I swore to myself that I would perform my honorable service for these people in exchange for rice and a mat upon which to sleep and be gone from their midst before the sun had rose in the morning."

"A young girl, not all that different from you Molly except I recalled she had slightly almond shaped eyes, was the one who brought me a bowl of rice and talked with me for a time while I ate." He continued with a sad smile of recollection at these events. "The conversation was much like all women of her time carried on about for she had recently been married off to one of the young warriors of the village who gained a small herd of goats, a kingly dowry, from her father. While this was an arranged marriage, the girl it turned out truly loved her husband, which was rare for such time and such situations. She feared that he would die in the coming battle and that then she would therefore lose him and this love. She told me she was too young to be a widow and to cry about love lost."

"I finished my meal and returned the bowl so she could leave but her words had struck something deep within me." He continued in the same saddened voice. "I was in my heart dedicated to Brahma's teachings and the gifts upon which he gave to man and therefore opposed to violence. The greatest of these gifts though God claimed was love. I saw then that the war my kindred had brought down upon your kind was destroying these gifts in lives like the young girl that I had served me and spoken of the love she had be granted. This I realized was insulting the very God who had offered such a precious gift to all."

"I did not sleep that night as I meditated on this, but still I knew I was not a warrior by nature and remained unwilling to join the fight and give up the life I thought was mine. But still I prayed for guidance and hoped that some messenger would tell me what God wished of me." Hisha spoke softly but held us all, even the troll who had obviously heard this story before, trapped in the web of his telling.

"My own people were the messengers that God, or more likely the Dark One, sent unto me." He said with a hint of undisguised disgust in his voice. "While the village of humans lay sleeping except for a few aged warriors on guard duty I sensed my kind's approach by the magic they used. I rose to seek them out and found that they were hidden beneath and illusion of invisibility and were even now sneaking past the guards on duty so as to strike from stealth at those asleep in the heart of the village. I knew my kind would win such a fight and in doing so they would kill or enslave all in the village if I did nothing. So I chose to act." He said very simply and without pride in this action. It was an acknowledgement of a tragedy to Hisha more than a glory to be honored for it seemed.

"Did you dispel their veil?" I asked understanding the magic being used was much like my own.

"No, they were too many and too powerful for me to do so in the time I had." He explained as one practitioner to others talking of their shared craft. I understood that if each of the Raksasha's had cast his own veil spell then Hisha had to take each one down individually or else use truly powerful magic in order to make them all visible at once."

"So how did you make them appear?" I asked not seeing a solution to the problem. This was, however, certainly a skill that I needed to be wary of as my veils were my chief protection.

"I did not actually make them appear." He said with a little twinge of smile. "I merely created an illusion over the top of them so that the human warriors in the village could see them even though beneath that illusion they were still invisible."

My eyes opened wide at that idea. A magic spell placed on top of magic instead of trying to cancel it out. That was ingeniously creative and not something my master had ever mentioned to me. I knew Harry was incredibly creative under extreme pressure especially with things that go boom or cause screaming, but I wondered if he would have come up with this simple yet elegant answer to an invisibility problem.

"The sudden appearance of my kind among the alert warriors initially caught both sides by surprise but in the next moments the Raksashas more so since they had been certain of their own cleverness and not planned for what to do if discovered. The fight was relatively one-sided and the raiding party was slain to a soul." I noted he did not use the more common term to a man to describe his kind.

"So you picked a side after all." I said.

"Yes I did." He agreed but with regret. "I knew that continuing the war was an abomination to Brahma so I could not stand aside from the world around me while my kind subjugated yours." Hisha justified his actions with these words and while he seemed to be at peace with them, I could sense he still wished to this day that there had been another way to do so.

"I knew that the leader of the Raksasha's was the most powerful one of the tribes by the name of Ravana and that his fortress was on the island of Lanka, what today you call Sri Lanka." Geography was not my best subject but I think I knew what he was speaking so casually of. "Ravana had been the one to propose war. He had fed the war with our pride and that the conflicts would not end while he remained to continue the struggle."

Hisha turned to a slightly lighter subject. "Among the humans had risen a warrior equal of fame to Ravana who your people called Rama. I knew that to end this war I must guide this leader of the humans, their great champion to Ravana's sanctuary, to end this war once and for all." His voice grew quieter telling me the story was near an end. "This is what I did. Rama and his army slew Ravana and his kind." He said simply. "I remain the last of my kind to serve as an example of foolish racial pride and perhaps to show those stories of ancient demons are not all myths."

I tried to think of what that would be like, to be the last of your race. I decided after a moment this was perhaps the loneliest existence I could think of. It therefore bespoke much of Hisha's character that instead of succumbing to sorrow and remorse over these events and the actions he had taken the noble Raksasha had chosen instead to continue to look for ways to improve the futures of those around him. The holy power of faith lay strong within his frame for any with the ability to sense it, and even those not as gifted in sensing such things as I am likely understood on a subconscious level that here was a good man...I mean good Rakshasa... no I was right the first time... good man. He had made his choice regardless of the shape he wore and lived up to what we humans would consider the highest personal ideals.

But why then was such a hero here now? Could I believe mere chance made this living legend cross my path or was it something deeper? I know my father is a strong believer that there is no such thing as fate, that God provides according to his plan, but that seems to me easier to believe if you are one of God's warriors. I am a mere apprentice wizard and a very young one at that so it's not like I expect or deserve this level of attention for myself. I was not a chosen one, at least not yet. My father epitomized love, he had hope, while I was at best an apprentice in these too seeking my own understanding...

"You were sent here to be my teacher." I declared looking at Hisha and smiling now that in a fit of inspiration I understood better what was going on. Elaine looked at me with expanding eyes but did not raise any objection to the claim. Nor did the troll who seemed by his posture and emotions to be agreeing with me. Okay I admit it was based completely on his emotions. I had yet to complete a course in the non-verbal communication cues of creatures of the Nevernever.

"Some whose job it remains to watch and listen heard you ask to learn more of faith." Hisha agreed with a slow blink and nod of his head. "Your prayers reached the ears of The One Who Watches and he asked me to speak to you as I had to others before you." I knew by that shaded reference he was speaking of Uriel but for some reason, perhaps not wanting to alert him, or maybe not to make Elaine uncomfortable he chose not to state so plainly. "You are hardly the first one ever to seek faith that I have been called upon to provide instruction." There was something in the way he said that last thing that told me there was a secret wrapped in it that I was meant to unravel.

I thought on that for a moment and then looking at him as I suddenly understood what he was telling me. "You trained Shiro too didn't you?" Shiro had been the last wielder of the Sword of Faith and now that I was looking at Hisha I knew that he had even taken on an illusionary image of a man very similar in features to Shiro. This undoubtedly was part of the reason I was so open to listening to him even at first when he was a complete stranger and especially when my own mind was focused upon my dad's health; subconsciously he had been familiar to me. It seems to me that the myth that Rakshasas could appear as those we loved or trusted had some basis in fact as well.

He nodded his head. "And he was not nearly so fast to observe and pick such things up as you are child." Hisha said. "In fact I do not see that there is truly much that I can teach you that you do not already know. I think you merely require experience to more fully develop and grow into your full potential my child."

"What do you mean?" I asked. "I still need to understand faith as much now or even more than when 'someone' heard my prayers." I said with a hint of my frustration. "Surely one whom God accepted to learn at his feet can provide me some insight on the subject of faith."

"I think you merely do not see how much you already understand of these things Molly." He said. "And faith is not something one can read in a book or even have explained. I could describe to you what a ripe melon tastes like to me but until you experience it for yourself you can never truly understand my words. It is something that one must live, must experience, must just come to be part of them." He explained with some regret.

"But you said that you taught Shiro faith so that he could wield _Fidelacchius._" I pointed out. "Why couldn't you do this for me as well? I seek the same result as he did; to be worthy of the blade."

"I did not teach Shiro faith." Hisha corrected wearing that same instructive look of superiority that his student had worn years ago when correcting me on issues in which I was in error. "I taught him how to handle a sword for I knew that to be his weapon of choice that he was born to carry. It was through learning this that he came to understand faith."

"Then why can't you do the same thing for me?" I asked. "I need to learn the skills of the sword. That is why I had this practice blade made just like the Sword of Faith so that I could master its use."

"And if God wills it so you will." He said with an approving nod. "But there are others in your life better suited to teach you that skill than I could ever be. If I were to interfere it would be like taking a seedling away from the sun and trying to grow it by a lamp. While it will work to some degree is in not as effective as the source created for this very role in Brahma's great design. Your father and your sensei are more that up to this task of training one headstrong female wizard."

"And besides, while you wish to learn the sword, you were blessed at birth with another skill far more suited to the center of your life just as the sword was integral to Shiro's." He explained.

"You mean my magic." I said with a bit of disappointment evident in my voice. "I beg to differ though. My skills with magic do not lean to combat. Harry has told me that while I am powerful I will never master the ability to throw fire or any of the other battle magic like he can."

"And he is correct." Hisha nodded. "Were fire and force the only means to do battle you would truly be at a disadvantage. But that statement is not based upon truth. Even a sword may be used to strike many ways and not open the skin." He said with a smile making me look over at Elaine who was conveniently rubbing the evident bruise on her scalp I had given her at the same time. "Perhaps the problem is that you have not thought on how to use your 'sword' in another manner that befits your talents."

I thought about what he was saying and knew almost immediately where he was trying to take me. Hey it's not like I'm stupid or anything it just takes a moment or two to look at a situation from another angle when someone tells you to. "So a Raksasha is going to teach me illusion magic?" I said without even attempting to hide the smile that bloomed upon my face.

"I will merely show you how it is done." He said. "The rest you will develop on your own through your determination."

"That's so cool!" I agreed with an eager nod.

"Um I don't mean to be a spoilsport or anything but do we really have the time for this when we are supposed to be checking out this Highpelt Forge and Ferrier place you mentioned?" Elaine asked as I sensed her begin to get nervous as she too realized there were even greater powers at play than we first had assumed. She had been a pawn of such a one once and had no obvious desire to repeat the experience. But even with that in mind it was actually a fair question in the grand scheme of things. But I _wanted_ the chance to try this type of magic.

"I suspect that it will take little to no time for someone as smart and gifted as Molly to grasp the concept." Hisha replied. "The skill already lies locked inside her. All I plan to do is offer her the key she needs."

"Alright then let's do this." I agreed without looking back. Elaine said nothing at my declaration but I sensed her concern.

"Which language has your master been teaching you to perform magic with." The Raksasha asked?

"Latin." I replied

"Ah...pity." He sighed. "I had hoped he would have used one of the civilized dialects."

"Ignore him." The troll stated for our benefit. "Anything not created in India is automatically inferior in his eyes. It is a prejudice you have to learn to accept. Oh and the Latin word for 'Illusion' is _Noctus ex illuminus_." He offered without me having to make the embarrassing request. Harry had learned Latin by a correspondence course and I was learning it from him. The fact that the troll spoke both Latin and English better than I did was disturbing on a very base level. And I did not even have the advantage of the public schools excuse to use for this.

"Okay so what do I do?" I asked starting to draw magic into me so I could try out a new spell.

"When you cast your invisibility what do you picture?" Hisha asked me calmly.

"That's simple." I said. "When I cast a veil I picture nothingness. I erase myself from the world around me like photo shopping myself out of a Polaroid." I said which caused Hisha to turn and look at the troll.

"She is talking of computers and saying she paints herself out of the picture." He explained with a shake of the head. "Brahma never said you had to be an enemy of technology you know. It is your Far Eastern pig headedness that makes you thing that for some reason gardening with a wooden stick brings you closer to God."

"Hush of I will not invite you as a friend on my Facelook page." Hisha said with a sense of superiority.

"It's called Face_book._" The troll just shook his head more.

"That is what I meant... your book of faces. You shall not be invited to send me c-mail." He continued

"You really are hopeless you know that?" The troll laughed. "Now finish your lesson before you get sued by Bill Gates just on general principles?"

I could see Hisha mouth the name Bill Gates as if he was going to ask a question of who he was but instead he returned to the subject at hand. "Now illusions are like your book of faces. You picture what you want to appear firmly in your mind and call forth the spell." He explained. "For your first attempt begin simply by selecting and projecting a color."

I tried not to focus on his 'book of faces' reference and do just what I was told. I selected a color and locked it firmly in my mind, gathered the power and spoke the key Latin words while keeping my eyes closed.

"Bet you ten bucks she goes with Red." I heard Lord Kline say to Hisha and Elaine.

"_Noctus ex illuminus."_ I called and I could literally feel a burst of red magic exploded from my fingertips, which was really annoying because up until he said something I was actually picturing purple in my mind! I was glad though that they did not know that or I'm certain Hisha would probably give me one of those same Harry-type lectures about concentrating on what I was doing and not getting distracted when casting a spell.

"You both owe me ten bucks." The troll said. "Well not you Hisha since you look like that." I heard him burst out into a roaring laughter that sounded like someone coughing up a lung.

I opened my eyes to find Hisha covered from head to toe in a wash of red as if a can of house paint had been dumped upon his head. I opened my mouth to apologize but the troll's laughter only grew as he sputtered out more words. "The... red... looks... nicer... than... orange." I was so shocked by this I released the spell and Hisha was instantly looking himself once more though the troll continued to laugh.

"Do either of you know how to send a computer bacteria?" The old monk asked staring daggers at the troll.

"Hisha I am so sorry." I said.

"Think nothing of it daughter." He replied speaking with a tone of familiarity that made me feel warm. "You now know the secret. It shall be up to you to practice this more over time. But as your friend said the time is running late if we are to get you to your destination." He wandered off to collect some things ignoring the looks of shock Elaine and I wore that he and the troll planned to come along.

As we went to follow Lord Kline pulled me aside as he stopped laughing. "Child I do not think you understand the honor Vibhishana just paid you." He said with a tone of seriousness.

"In that he called me daughter?" I asked.

"Yes." He replied. "Since the death of his brother he has had no family or anyone he chose to consider as such. The loss of his brother has haunted him for all the time I knew Vibhishana."

"Obviously if Hisha is the last of his kind his brother had to be dead." I said aloud. "Were they that close?"

"Very much so." The troll nodded. "Right up until he was killed in the war Hisha spoke of. You see Vibhishana brother was Ravana." That came as such a shock to me that I did not know how I was supposed to feel based upon this revelation.


	12. Chapter 12

**Semper Fidelis**

**_Chapter 12_**

If I needed any further proof beyond an archangel telling me important issues were in play then consider the following. Now that Elaine and I had crossed paths with Hisha and Lord Kline then next time I looked at my detection crystal it now pointed back the same way we had entered from. It was like a silent subtle message explaining that once we had found each other our group was ready to proceed to the next stage like some silly role playing game scenario.

Yeah I know that there were a series of other potential answers for what could have caused this deviation in my magical seeker just as there are natural things that can screw up a regular magnetic compass. For example if someone or something within a mile or so had gathered a large quantity of magic to cast a major spell it might have disrupted the flows around me and caused this temporary change until things settle back out. By the same token if someone nearby had wards against detection they might have inadvertently screwed with my own spell like two radio stations on the same frequency. Hell even a surge of power through any ley line that ran nearby could have done this also, and Chicago was known as a nexus for such things so this was a highly likely answer. Personally though I'm sticking with the whole subtle guided hand thing; to me it makes for more satisfying story and gives me a comforting feeling that I'm not alone in this nightmare.

Of course there is always something to be said for empirical proof. "Hisha how did you know we were going to be here?" I asked as our seemingly new partners prepared themselves to leave their quiet chess game and join us on our quest.

The troll was carefully putting away the chess pieces in a velvet lined box and stowing that container and the hinged board in a well worn leather pouch connected to a looping strap that he hung over his shoulder. Hisha meanwhile had put away the tea set and cleaned out the copper kettle and was now smiling at me as we waited. "I would think the daughter of a Knight of the Cross would immediately understand that HE provides Molly." He said with a smile and a tone of voice that sounded exactly like my father. I guess if your species' natural talent is illusions to appear as a loved one then you have to get the voice right as well.

I smiled at him in response to this polite trick wondering if this talent came from his ability to read my mind or if, like my clothes, the recipient merely heard the words in the voice that would be most appropriate at the time. I was going to ask him this but a looked flashed across his face telling me he had just recalled something else important. "Oh I cannot believe that I almost forgot the most important reason for your being here!" He said shaking his head.

"Like I said the mind is the second thing to go." The troll laughed at Hisha's expense.

"Hush!" Hisha scolded. "Beside you obviously have issues of your own in that area for you said it was the first thing a few moments ago."

"I was trying to be respectful of your private issues because we were in mixed company." Lord Kline replied with a laugh. I have to say I never really thought of trolls sitting around telling off-colored jokes but here I was in the middle of such things.

Hisha ignored this barb entirely as if it had not been uttered and was above it though I saw Elaine blush slightly and turn away as if having decided like I did that anything she might add would certainly be wrong in this case. The old man kept to his remembered task and went to the wall beside the gas stove and pulled a rather regular looking brick free from the wall, obviously knowing a secret space existed beyond it and then drew out a cloth wrapped bundle while Lord Kline flipped his hands like a broom telling us to go over and join the old monk.

Hisha pulled the cloth off the bundle exposing two gleaming objects that he was now holding out to Elaine and I to take. One was a sword that looked much like the wooden blade I carried but the other was much more medieval and even a bit sinister in form.

"Months ago during my meditations I received a vision of these two weapons and was told that I would need to keep them close." Hisha explained looking at Elaine and I as if this was supposed to be something we instinctively understood. If he was hoping that we had shared the vision it was disappointed for I had not had any such dream nor did Elaine's form seem to give such an indication.

He continued though without showing any sign of disappointment about this. "Since I have no use for such things myself I took this to mean that I was to recover them for someone else's greater purpose in the future. It was only after doing so and having met you outside the hospital that I understood I was to have them here for the Emissaries of Summer and Winter when you came to call." He smiled at us and motioned for each of us to pick up the weapon that was most comfortable for us.

As he expected I took hold of the oriental sword that was only slightly longer than the wooden one on my back and found it perfectly balanced and its added weight a comfort in my hands. Elaine was a little more reluctant to follow my lead but with a further encouragement of nearly dropping the bundle in her hands and she finally accepted the inevitable and picked up the odd looking implement though her look showed she had no clue what she was holding or why.

"That is the flail or Richard de Bures, the seventeenth Grand Master of the Temple of Knights." Hisha said looking at the weapon Elaine held; what appeared to me to be a three foot chain of fine steel links that ended in a wicked looking black iron spiked ball. While it looked far too heavy for her to use properly Elaine grasped the small wooded handle and lifted it as if the weapon weighed almost nothing.

She took a few cautious practice swings and I could see by the smile on her face that the movements with the spiked ball on the chain were very similar in form to the simple links of chain she normally carried as a weapon. Add to that the fact that the material the weapon was crafted from just happened to be uniquely suited to Elaine's magical preference for electricity-based spells and was a bane to most creatures from Faerie and you certainly had the perfect gift for an emissary to protect herself.

"It's pronounced the Order of the Knights Templar you pagan." The troll said shaking his head with a smile. "And to be historically accurate de Bures elevation to Grand Master is disputed to this day due to the fact that he was not only a lower ranking knight of the order but also their ambassador to the White Council. According to their bylaws established at the time at the time the White Council ambassador's association with magic made him a member of the inner circle when council was required but also made him ineligible for the position of Grand Master of the order even if he did lead them after the death of his predecessor."

"It is sad that the men of authority in the Church at that time saw his gifts as a curse rather than a blessing from God." Hisha replied.

"Yes the _Suffer Not a Witch to Live_ sects of Christian faith were relatively prominent in infecting the people of that time." Lord Kline said as Hisha shook his head. "But one must wonder if perhaps if de Bures had relied more upon his alliance to his faith and less to those related to his magic then perhaps he would have led more than just forty survivors from the field of battle. Of course his service in destroying the Set worshipping wizards among the Egyptian Malmuk forces served the White Council's purposes quite effectively but it cost the Church a sizable defeat."

Hisha seemed ready to respond but Elaine interrupted him with a question first. "What are all these glowing magical runes on the spiked ball?" She stopped swinging the weapon and sure enough I saw the same runes she spoke of glowing faintly bluish white and then slowly fading over the next few seconds until the iron ball was solid black and unmarked once more.

"Ah yes." Hisha said with a smile. "As I said Grand Master De Bures was a wizard as well so of course his chosen weapon was suited to his unique abilities." He said purposely injecting the title knightly just to annoy the troll who seemed to pride himself on historical accuracy.

Having now heard both comments though I put this together in my own mind to ensure myself of what was being offered. "So you are suggesting that a White Council wizard led the Knights Templar and that this weapon was one he devised to use his magic in conjunction with his weapon skills." I had to admit stranger things were possible. "And none of this is recorded in our histories?" I asked.

"See I told you her mind was quick." Hisha smiled at the troll who merely nodded in agreement.

"Wait then are you saying this is a White Council weapon?" Elaine interrupted the coming response asked and looked like she was prepared to drop the flail.

"De Bures has been dead for seven centuries." Lord Kline replied. "I am certain he does not mind your use of the flail if the times require it."

"It's not as simple as that." Elaine said with obvious concern. "The White Council does not leave artifacts like these weapons just lying around for anyone to find or use. Normally they are recovered and given to the Wardens who secure them for safety sake and in case they are ever needed in the future. They even raid museums and tombs for these types of things when they learn of them as a means of ensuring they do not fall into the wrong hands. I have even heard of situations where that they have killed people who had such items in their personal possession if the situation requires it and if there is no other means to ensure their safe recovery."

The two looked at each other with shared looks of discomfort as if they were unsure how to respond until the raksasha finally broke the silence. "You must look at this as an issue of first claim." Hisha replied. "De Bures was a Temple Knight and therefore sworn to God so God therefore has claim on his possessions first. And I feel that my vision was a statement that God believed they are now needed once again."

"Yeah I wish the Wardens had come to similar conclusions about the flail. It would have made for less unnecessary conflicts and injuries on their part." Lord Kline said out of the side of his mouth. "It certainly would have made things easier for us at all those look-a-like monasteries in India when we went to recover the flail."

"Hush now." Hisha spat. "We did not kill anyone so they should be pleased. And I am sure that when this event is all over the White Council will understand that our need was just and then their hunting parties will be recalled from chasing us."

"Yeah and if their healers showed up in time I'm certain many of those Warden guards may even regain the ability to walk again one day." The troll said shaking his head.

"Wait you stole these weapons from the Wardens and injured some of their number in the process of doing so?" I asked seeing this whole situation we were not embroiled in suddenly go from bad to much much worse.

"Oh yes, the fact that she is very quick witted is just a boon for us is it not?" Lord Kline said with a laugh to Hisha then turned to me. "And it was not only Wardens we were forced to engage; they had a fairly high ranking wizard with them as well if we want to be totally accurate about these events."

"Hush." The old monk seemed to just be beginning to actually get angry. "As I said I was directed to recover these weapons and I did so. It is not my fault that the Warden records I had were incomplete and therefore I had to search a dozen of their storage monasteries before we found the one that held the flail. It is their fault for using the same design for each building. How was my vision supposed to distinguish such things?" Yes he was obviously irritated with the path this conversation was taking. It became so much so that I thought it was not wise for me to say the reason the buildings likely looked the same was to make anyone planning just such a raid uncertain of their actual target as they had obviously done. "And for your accuracy we never instigated any of the fights. Had it not been for that annoying Warden Morgan and Wizard Cristos seeing through our illusions each time we would have gotten in and out without any incidents." He had a look of indignation on his face.

The idea that Hisha and Lord Kline had crossed paths with Morgan and one of the ranking wizards of the White Council merely to recover the flail for us nearly set me tumbling to the ground for it would not bode well for us to be seen with it. Elaine was showing concern about this as well and I knew I had to change the subject before her fear totally overwhelmed her. Any more talk about that weapon was likely to be bad so I figured it would not hurt to move the subject to something a little closer to home for me.

"Wait you said you raided the Warden monasteries only to recover the flail right?" I asked to which stopped the two from their private argument and made them turn to regard me and the question I posed. Hisha looked at me and then nodded slowly that I was correct. "Okay so where did you get this sword from then?" I asked aloud and the two paused to look at each other again in the same way that made me realized I was not going to like the answer that I was about to hear any better that the previous one.

"Yep, her quick wits are certainly a boon." The troll laughed once more and turned to look to Hisha.

"Hush." He spoke again, and I noticed this now thrice or more repeated word was really was starting to take on a tiger-like growl to it. "You may rest easy if you share a similar concern to that of your companion about enraged Wardens. We did not acquire that weapon from the White Council and they shall have no interest in its recovery or that it is in your possession." He seemed to want to stop there and a greater proportion of me seemed to think that was a good idea too. Unfortunately there was a troll who had other thoughts and was not about to let it drop.

"Tell her all of it." He said with the same wicked smile as he crossed his long, English suit clad arms.

Hisha looked at the troll in annoyance and finally sighed. "We acquired the sword…"

"Stole…" The troll injected with a steadfast attitude.

"…from a dragon's horde." Hisha finished and shot a glare at the troll who only smiled.

"…while the dragon was fighting the very Wardens and wizard that had doggedly followed our trail." Lord Kline added.

As I have mentioned before my knowledge on dragons is severely limited to basically knowing only two things about them. First I know they are extremely rare but that they really do exist. Second I understood from my unanswered questions to my master that they were so powerful a force that Harry did not want to even discuss them with me. I looked at the sword in my hands and then at Hisha who merely gave me a helpless shrug. Lord Kaine only shook his head. I turned quickly to Elaine.

She pulled the flail she held close to her chest. "No trades!" She said obviously knowing more about dragons than I did and fearing them more that the Wardens and the White Council put together.

Oh yeah…this whole situation of being an emissary was just getting better and better.

Heading back into the tunnel, and following the beam of light given off by my glow stick flashlight our crystal guided path backtracked us only to the last four way intersection and this time we took the path nearly directly across from the one we had originally entered from the university. Hisha, who I found out had no trouble seeing in the dark, something about having the natural night vision of a cat, took the lead at this point thirty feet or so ahead of us and only paused to await us when he came to intersections requiring decisions.

He was followed this little distance behind by Elaine and I who used my flashlight to make sure we did not inadvertently crack our skulls on anything. With the Wardens looking for the weapons we were holding I figured it would be unfair to rob them of their fun if they happened to catch up to us.

Lord Kaine in turn followed an equal distance behind us still; proclaiming that his purpose was to ensure nothing snuck up on us. Like the raksasha, the troll had effective night vision and supposedly did not want our light to limit this ability for him. I understood that he was politely lying and that he, like I, had noticed that anytime he got too close to Elaine's back that she tensed up in fear. I guess when you add a nine foot troll to a claustrophobic in a dark tunnel you end up with a recipe for potential problems. For my part I kept soothing thoughts aimed in Elaine's directions while we held quiet conversations about nothing particularly important.

After a short time we found Hisha standing in the middle of a section of tunnel obviously waiting on us. Something about his stance made me concerned. "I smell death." He said calmly and answering the very question of why he had stopped before I even was able to think to ask it. I realized he was a scary individual in some ways now that I knew he was not actually a gentle old human man. But I took a deep breath and tried to tell myself that this was all for a purpose that I did not yet understand and kept to my tasks at hand.

Elaine had stopped a step before I did and she paused to look around at the nearest walls when she heard these words. Death is one of those smells you never forget once you have encountered it and now that Hisha had mentioned it I could smell it as well but could not locate the source. We were still in brick lined tunnels and while they were almost ten feet high, I knew this because the troll did not have to stoop while walking, they showed no signs of any place to hide something dead larger than a mouse. Like back in Hisha room, I had to assume that there was a loose brick or two like the one that had hidden the weapons but none seemed out of place.

When Lord Kline reached us he immediately located the bodies; there were two by the way, as they were packed into an unseen ledge above us. The way the tunnel had been designed at the eight foot level, above the normal line of sight for humans but not trolls, ran a small one foot ledge that likely had held some sort of illumination source at one time or another. From down low it was completely invisible unless you know what you were looking for.

"Wow is that some sort of optical illusion?" I asked looking at Hisha who seemed the expert on all things illusion.

"No I would say it is more than likely the work of master craftsmen." He countered.

"The bearded folk." The troll said.

"You mean dwarves?" I asked remembering the term 'bearded ones' from my games of Arcanos with Harry. "I thought their kind was merely a myth." I said, which in present company of a raksasha and a troll seemed to be a rather ridiculous statement to make.

"That is because they are allies of the Wyldfae and are very reclusive even my Fae standards." Elaine informed us without looking from the stone work to prevent shaking because the troll was so close by.

"Quite true." Lord Kline said. "They are not Fae though." He explained. "They are one of the evolutionary offshoot races of human kind that was originally centered mostly in Asia. I believe your archeologists have recently found evidence of their ancestral homeland on some of the Malaysian islands and now mistakenly refer to them as 'hobbits' after that rather successful series of books and movies."

"Asia?" I asked. "I thought the mythology I have all heard about them originated in the west. That would tend to make dwarves a Northern European or Scandinavian race. But I do not remember them making any hobbit discoveries in those areas."

"That is also true Molly." He said. "Originally the dwarves kept pretty much to themselves and away from human settlements. In fact they had only one real racial enemy with who they competed for land and resources. It is this one who eventually made the dwarves flee their homes in Asia and immigrate west which is where humans finally crossed paths and took note of them before recording stories of their kind. To the dwarves, since humans lived above ground they were not much of a competitive threat to their underground lifestyles so the races could live in harmony without intruding upon each other."

"If it was not humans then who made the dwarves flee?" I asked finding the notion interesting since it was obviously not recorded in any of the human histories that I had read.

"Dragons." Lord Kline said without a hint of emotion. "If dragons claim an area then all creatures who live under their dominance either submit to their god-like authority, as most of the human races of Asia did in times long past, or they choose to fight and are exterminated like the dwarves were. Dragons take challenges to their authority quite seriously." His matter of fact tone was more than a little disturbing when taken into the context that I was carrying a sword 'appropriated' from a dragon's horde.

"So how did the dwarves become allies of the Wyldfae?" I asked wanting to understand this whole situation.

"Unlike the movies seem to indicate, dwarves were not a warrior race." Lord Kline replied. "They were craftsman and workers and very peace loving, much like the fictitious hobbits from those stories. But as the dragons pushed the dwarves further and further west killing the majority of their race in the process a warrior caste began to develop among their kind. Instead of accepting subjugation or banishment this small group began to strike back and even successfully took down a fair number of dragons in the process though they still suffered heavy losses in each of these battles."

"Dragons do not accept the death of one of their kind by what they consider the 'inferior races.' This created an issue of racial hatred between the dwarves and the dragons swore to accept nothing less than the total extermination of the bearded race." The troll explained further reminding me of my old teach Mr. Goldman and his history lessons. I had a feeling the troll and he would get along great if the old man could like through the shock of first meeting the nine foot flesh eating creature of myth.

"So then they fled to the Nevernever?" I asked assuming the dwarves realized this as their only possible escape.

"No. Dwarves, like many other creatures, are not magical in nature so have no means to open gateways to the Nevernever like human wizards do." The troll replied. "In fact they are highly resistant to magic and spells tend to not affect them or worse are sometimes reflected back at the caster. As a wizard type you might wish to remember this." Of course I did try to store that fact away and hoped I never needed it.

"Then how did they get to the Nevernever?"

"My lord the Erlking found the way these non-warriors learned to hunt dragons to be worthy of his protection so he offered them a place among the Wlydfae in exchange for their oath of alliance and access to their craftsmanship when he required it." Lord Kline replied. "Of course they accepted this as they had no better options."

"Then how did dwarves build this tunnel if they now live in the Nevernever and have no magic at their disposal to open portals?" I asked.

Lord Kline flipped aside the suit's lapel and exposed a small antlered pin that I knew to be the Erlking's token much like the icicle I wore was Queen Mab's. "The magic contained in my pin of office confers me the means to cross over and back at designated points. I assume that the dwarf who assisted on these tunnels had something similar at his or her disposal. Unfortunately such magic is not as rare as it should be."

"If you are done with the history less Professor Kline perhaps you could see if the dead bodies reveal what killed them." Hisha asked with a little less patience than I expected from him. "I would like to know if we are in the hunting grounds of something or merely happened to cross some road kill as the locals refer to it."

"How can you tell the difference?" Elaine asked more than a little nervously as she looked around.

"Creatures that hide a kill do so for two reasons." Hisha explained. "First because this is their larder and they plan to return for a second meal in the future; which for us would be bad. Or secondly they hide such things because they do not want anything tracking them and hide the remains as a means to cover their trail." He finished.

Lord Kline carefully removed the remains from the shelf above us and rolled them out like a pair of red carpets. They were merely sacks of skin and bones, and from the general size and shape, but mostly from my single observed comparison, I knew them to likely have been human. This meant that I needed to tell Butters that there would be more of those corpses he had found in the future. I also needed to get word to both Harry and Murphy that something new and dangerous had staked a claim and made a home here in Chicago and they needed to look into it.

"Any idea what creature kills in this manner?" I asked my new companions hoping one or the other could shine some light on this that I could pass along as well. Both the raksasha and the troll had lived for many years so they had a chance to have seen things not contained in Harry's books.

"I have never even heard of such a thing." Hisha replied shaking his head with a sense of wonder. "Though I must admit my own experiences are mostly limited to those of eastern origin." The troll merely shook his own head slowly as if pondering what he saw as well.

"Do you think the killer is still around here?" Elaine asked looking around and grasping her medieval flail just a little tighter.

"There is no scent of rot about these, just a whiff of death." Hisha replied. "I take from that fact that whatever killed and deposited these did so a while ago and has therefore moved on since there are no newer examples in this room to worry about." I accepted that answer but I was still left wondering if a kill left only skin and bones just what was left to rot?

"We should be careful all the same." Hisha said and motioned for the troll to return the skins to where they had lain. I was not sure that was the best idea since these were remains of two people who likely were considered missing by the police now and their families would want to know what happened to them. On the other hand I was not about to roll them up and carry them along in my backpack until we got out of here so I really did not see another alternative. I did however take one of my handy pieces of chalk and make some small marks at the base of the wall where the troll stashed the bodies. I also broke off a small piece of one of the bricks in the wall so I could make a tracking spell back to this place in the future, hopefully with Harry and Murphy at my side when the time came.

We followed the winding corridor for another quarter mile and I could not help but wonder just how Daniel could navigate down here. He had no magic to draw upon and as the human remains testified to, there were things down here in Undertown even higher on the food chain that looked upon humans as a source of food.

The next time we caught up to Hisha was at the doorway to another of the underground chambers though this one was obviously much larger than the one he and Lord Kline had been playing chess within. I shined my light inside and the glow sticks could just make out odd shaped objects at the edge of the light's radiance. These items were to indistinctive in the pale light to make out what they were but the fact that none showed any sign of movement when the flashlight aimed in their direction made me suspect they were not living creatures I had to worry about.

"What do you think?" I asked Hisha who stood staring into the room. I noted that he looked at the crystal in my hand that pointed through the chamber but to what destination I could not tell. I assumed there was another doorway on the far side of the room that I could not see because the other alternative was to think Daniel was lying dead somewhere in this room and that was not something I cared to contemplate at this time.

"I sense a waiting tension." He said in response. "But it seems neither to grow nor to dissipate over the moments we spend standing here. And in truth I think we have little choice on what we can do but proceed. I recommend we enter and you two keep your backs to the wall and go around the left while I will do the same to the right. That way if help is required it can approach from another direction and allow us to not all get caught up at once."

I nodded and with a smile for the plan made as much sense at that moment as any that I myself might have come up with. I looked at Elaine who was still keeping control over her own fears and merely nodded at me to proceed after Hisha entered the room and we gave him a minute or two lead to explore. "Are you doing okay?" I asked Elaine after a minute or so of silence while trying not to sound as concerned for her mental state as I was actually feeling.

"I will be fine." She lied and then nodded again for me to stop wasting time and get on with this so we could get back above ground as quick as possible.

I went in and turned to the left side of the room allowing the flashlight to illuminate the wall beside me that I could not see from outside the door. And of course there was a light switch a mere four feet further in at the five foot from the ground level waiting patiently with just a few cobwebs clinging to it to show it had not been used in many years. When I say light switch I am being a little generous to explain the function not really what it looked like. As far as looks went it was a dead on perfect example of those evil electric switches that Doctor Frankenstein always seemed to have lying around in his lab and that Igor was required to throw in order to bring the monster to life.

I put my hand on this and wondered just as I started to flip it to the up position if maybe there was some sort of monster I was going to create with a flip of this switch but I figured that was merely my mind playing off my fears. With a surge of determination I moved it to the up position it and decided to hope for the best.

There was a sudden growl but that did not come from a reanimated corpse but instead from a forties era blower that also came to life to pump fresh air into the room at the same time as the string of wired lights around the chamber came to life as well. And with this light that ended up nearly turning the room as bright as daylight, or at least that is what it seemed to my now light sensitive eyes, I saw that we were standing in one of the key laboratories of the Manhattan Project's time in Chicago.

Banks of machinery and working desks, the odd shaped non-moving objects my flashlight had tried to reveal stood around the circular hundred foot room that also had a stairway leading up to another metal doorway probably to another building at the university. For the most part I could not identify the purpose of any of these machines except for the one in the very center of the room that was obviously a centrifuge based upon is round track design. Black thick power cables also ran to reach of these machines as well and provided a series of tripping hazards had we been foolish enough to try and wander straight across the chamber without first turning on this light would have left us falling flat on our faces.

Now able to see through the whole room Elaine and I moved away from the walls and more toward the center keeping each other in sight even though Hisha was hidden by the interconnected banks of what might have been an early computer for all I know on the right hand side of the room.

"Hisha is everything alright?" I called out stepping over one of the cables and moving toward the central centrifuge in order to hopefully catch a glimpse of the old monk. Elaine was doing so as well keeping me in sight as much as possible.

"No." He answered though not in a worrisome panic that might normally accompany such an answer in this kind of situation. "The feeling of tension has increased by the addition of this light rather than retreated. We should make our way out of this room quickly and find your brother. I sense that we are not wanted here."

"I see the hallway over here." Elaine said walking to an open portal again that the crystal in my hand pointed directly to. "There is a white cable running about three feet up from the ground that we will have to step over but it should be easy enough." I saw her make her way to the door and reach out for the cable to step over it.

You know how you sometime get that alarming feeling when something bad is about to happen and you can't stop it. Yeah, my sense like that was running just a split second too late in this case. "Elaine wait!" I called raising my hand just as her own reached for the white cable. "Don't touch it!" I said just an instant too late."

"Oh it's sticky." She said as I saw her trying to open her hand back up and pull away from the cable but now found herself unable to do so. She struggled for a second not realizing what she was holding and therefore not understanding that what she was doing by trying to free herself was the equivalent of ringing the dinner bell.

"Spider!" I yelled watching the eight foot creature scuttle emerge from the shadows in the domed roof and begin to climb down the side of the wall toward her. I ran forward to help and at the same time sensed at least two more like it doing so in my peripheral vision.

Elaine was trapped as effectively by the line of webbing as a mere fly in a regular spider web would be. The good news was that my warning had been enough to alert her to the danger. Add to that her additional good fortune that she had not gotten her weapon hand caught on the web so the flail was still available for defense. Of course when faced with an eight foot spider, a two and a half foot flail seems just a little lacking for the task at hand. Except of course this one had been made for a wizard and not merely a knight so it had additional capabilities.

Looking like she had carried it for years Elaine spun the flail three times in a quick circle as I felt her draw magic to herself and then flicked the weapon's head like a whip so that the spiked ball shot toward the approaching arachnid even though it was still a dozen feet or more from her. She spat out a word that was not like any Latin I had ever heard at the same moment and a bold of lightning flew from the spiked head of the mace to strike the spider in its right front two legs before flashing on toward the wall behind it and then reflecting toward the ceiling.

The blow was enough to injure, but certainly not enough to kill the creature but the combination of its now injured appendages and the likely respect the attack had garnered by someone's ability to hurt it drew the eight foot creature's rush up short as it seemed to reevaluate the prey it was coming for. This delay was perfect as it allowed me the opportunity to draw my new sword, I was happy that in my rush I picked the steel rather than the wooded one, and with a flowing slash worthy of a Kurosawa movie I brought the blade against the strand of webbing less than four inches from Elaine's hand.

Yeah, you know that old unproven statement they give in biology class that a one inch think strand of silk or webbing would be stronger than a one inch thick steel cable? Yeah I forgot all about that until the blade touched home and made my hands vibrate as bad as a cracked wooden bat with a fastball. Once again I said 'OW!"

I heard a battle roar of the troll from the other side of the room as he obviously engaged spiders approaching him. Of course instead of a standard cry of berserk combat and rage he went for the more upscale response of "If you ruin this suit I will make sure you are placed under glass and displayed at an out of the way interstate tourist attraction in New Mexico." Yeah not really as scary written in print so you just have to take my word for it that the delivery was everything. I'm not sure the spiders he engaged were all that impressed with it either.

I saw neither sight nor sound coming from the area of the room Hisha had been moving toward but as at least one of the creatures had been descending in that space so I took that as a sign he was just as engaged at the moment as the rest of us were. As he carried no weapons though I wondered just what he did in combat. I had the image of his flowing orange robes and striking karate blows, but could not recall if India had its own form of martial arts or not.

Elaine yanked even harder on the webbing but it appeared to me that she was more likely to remove her hand at the wrist than pull it free which of course was the whole purpose of webbing anyway. The problem was that the more she jerked the more she signaled the spiders that she was a trapped and ready prize waiting to be eaten. "Stop shaking the web!" I ordered her as the wounded spider began a tentative approach again and a second even larger creature came around a bank of science machines behind us as well to check out what was caught in the web.

I looked where my sword had struck the web and could not even find a scratch that marred its surface. Cutting was obviously out I realized as Elaine fired another electrical bolt at the second spider this time striking it on the side of the head before the lightning flew into the bank of machines and momentarily causing their little colored bulbs to illuminate for a moment.

"I cannot keep this up for long." Elaine said with more exhaustion now than fear in her voice. I knew she did not have the raw strength that Harry had and so a few strong blasts were about all she could manage. That meant she would need to fight defensively and I would have to help her. I looked quickly around the room and the barest strings of a plan began to weave together for me. Harry calls it inspiration; I'm pretty sure it's more accurately described as desperation.

"Can you cast a veil on yourself?" I asked her quickly as the spiders seemed to be ready to start moving toward us again. "You will have to stand perfectly still and not move the web after you cast it." I cautioned without describing things further.

"Yes I think so." She said.

"Alright when I cast my spell you do the same." I said pulling magic into me and hoping this was going to work as I slid the useless sword back into its sheath.

I looked first around the room to ensure I planned my course as I simultaneously tried to picture exactly what I wanted the magic to do. I understood that this was going to take a significant amount of concentration on my part and it was not something I had ever tried before so it was going to be even harder but hey, that is what magic is all about.

When I felt I had stored the necessary quantity of magic I spoke the command word. "_Noctus ex illuminus_." I called out loud while forming the illusion that I wanted in my mind. Being a sensitive mage I sensed more than heard Elaine cast her veil right afterwards since my own concentration was focused on my situation. And we accomplished this dual spells none too soon for by some unspoken signal the two spiders decided to charge at us at that moment as well.

Unfortunately for them what they saw was instead of one or two trapped prey awaiting their dining convenience the two of us suddenly scuttled away from the web line and headed directly toward the center of the room where the Manhattan Project's remaining equipment served to slow down their ability to pursue as rapidly as they were capable of. I glanced and noted thankfully that both spiders were surging toward us, that being just me and the illusionary Elaine, which meant they left the real veiled Elaine still stuck to the web all alone for the moment.

Thankfully a lot of equipment had been placed in a relatively confined space which for us smaller creatures provided a little advantage as far as movement was considered. That benefit only lasted long enough for the spiders to climb over or push desks and the like out of the way but it bought me the few necessary and precious seconds I required once I reached the center of the room to identify which control panel seemed to be connected to the centrifuge and make my way to it.

Like the lights this was also controlled by one of those Frankenstein switches which I flipped without hesitation hoping it was still as operational as the old lamps had been. I could not spare the time to look around but a more bestial roar of warning of attack from the troll told me that Lord Kline was still engaged in battle and was working with Hisha in partnership against at least one or more of the giant arachnids as well.

As the sixty year old machine began to spin I glanced down at the panel which had lots of gauges that probably meant something important if they could be read under the fine layer of dust that covered them. I did not need these for what I intended and focused instead on a large palm sized dial that I first hoped and then confirmed by brushing the dust away, was the speed control knob for the device. I cranked it all the way over to full speed as the first spider with the wounded legs came up to the last line of desks that separated it from its intended meal. Elaine second shot seemed to have partially blinded the larger creature so it was having trouble maneuvering through or over the equipment as fast as its wounded compatriot.

I give my respect to the engineers of the forties; they built things to last. The dozen arms on the centrifuge that made it look like that octopus carnival ride began to spin up faster and faster showing no signs that the years had in anyway degraded the machine from performing its intended purpose. I scuttled back behind the outer row of desks as the first spider came down into the open space by the spinning machine seeing my image of Elaine standing there and charged only to receive a strike from one of the passing arms that crushed a third leg on the same wounded side of its body and actually flipped the creature over on its back. The blow was just as I had hoped for as part of my Wiley E. Coyote escape plan. I now let the illusion of Elaine disappear as it was getting too hard to maintain and concentrated instead on keeping myself alive.

Centrifuges I found at that instant are not meant to strike things and the vibration from that single blow seemed to cause the entire machine to shudder for a few revolutions as it picked up more speed and eventually stabilized as it rotated even faster. By now the speed was so great that it was hard to distinguish individual arms as they passed by and still it appeared to just be getting warmed up. Perhaps I could use this and prove myself to be every bit the 'super genius' Wiley was.

I jumped up to the top of a desk and looked toward the way we had entered the room and found Hisha and Lord Kline, the former dancing between two spiders like a whirling dervish and the latter missing the left sleeve of his suit coat and a fine rivulet of greenish blood running down his arm using a detached spider leg to beat upon its former owner. "Get back in the hallway I have a plan." I shouted as the partially blinded arachnid made a surging bite toward me with its rather large mandibles. With the loss of its eyes its depth perception was off and it grabbed the desk instead just as I leapt to the ground hearing it crushing the battleship grey metal station as easily as a beer can. Note to self – avoid the mandibles.

I jumped through another line of unidentifiable machines taking a bit of a circular route back toward Elaine in order to hopefully keep more distance between me and my pursuers as I tried to figure out how to get Elaine off the web and us out of here before implementing the next part of my super genius anti-spider plan. This would have worked perfectly had it not been for the next spider, only a four feet or so tall runt of the litter, who happened to be in my direct path and looking right at me as I charged into its line of attack.

"Fuego!" I called tossing a small fireball at the creature's face at the same moment it spun in place and shot a line of webbing toward me. Thankfully the two projectiles met in midair and while the spider's was the larger it was also highly combustible I found and the string it shot acted like a fireworks fuse drawing the flame right back to the spider's body and setting it on fire. That was really convenient for me as it allowed me to not only get around the creature while it was distracted by this pain but to figure out how to hopefully free Elaine as well.

I turned back and looked toward my half-blind pursuer and found it was almost through bulldozing the last line of obstacles and headed in my way once more. A second quick glance found the arms of the centrifuge spinning so rapidly now as to create the same distorted effect of looking through the spokes of a wheel or a propeller at high speed. I hoped that would be enough for what I planned.

"Elaine drop your veil and get ready to fire another bolt of lightning." I screamed as I headed toward the spot I had left her. Twenty steps away I saw her appear as I drew more magic to me realizing that I was tiring quickly even with the adrenaline I was relying upon.

By ten steps I was happy to see her appear out of nothingness still grasping the web but twirling her flail with her other hand so that the runes on its spiked ball were beginning to glow once more. It was a little disconcerting to see her generally spinning it in my direction but it's not like I had the time to have explained all the details of my plan while on the run. Instead I cast my own spell, which thankfully my body explained to me in near protest required even less magic than my previous ones.

"_Flickum bicus_" I called ahead and focused on two points of the webbing a foot to each side of her trapped hand and watched my sparks fly true and strike the white webbing cable and instantly set it aflame even more effectively than the web that the little spider had shot in my direction. The sparks turned instantly to flames, which suddenly was as hot as a blowtorch and I could see this heat was already distracting Elaine from her spell.

"Fire everything you have at the centrifuge." I called to Elaine at five steps away and without thinking she did all I asked flicking the flail head toward the center of the room and releasing a bolt of lightning as strong as or even stronger than the first one she cast. It flew between the same two banks of machines I had first fled through, overturned a desk beyond that, and then struck right near the base of the centrifuge in a massive display of sparks and strobe lights than made the whole room sparkle.

I did not stop to admire her handiwork any further but instead bent down and dove into Elaine carrying her with me into the hallway; thankfully the burning webbing parted for us and allowed her to bring her left hand along for this part of the journey. We did not land well, or at least Elaine did not since I had the advantage of landing on her body for cushioning, as we rolled out into the hall and came to a stop. She groaned in pain but I figure all things considered it was not as bad as if I had not done so.

Back inside the room all mechanical hell was literally breaking loose. I know somewhere in school my physics teacher had explained something about how without gravity to hold the planets in orbit around the sun we would go shooting off into space. I figured the arms of the centrifuge worked in the same way as gravity and spinning as fast as they were would send projectiles firing and ricocheting in all directions if the arms broke off like I had planned, which of course made the hallways the best, if not perfect, place to avoid this effect. Yeah maybe I should have studied a little more in that class.

What happened instead is that the entire centrifuge broke free from its mooring so instead of a bunch of shots being fired around the room what actually happened was more akin to dropping a spinning toy top into a group of those green army men my brother had liked to play with. Actually that isn't quite accurate considering that toy tops were smoothed down to prevent injuries and the arms of the centrifuge had not had this protection applied because no one had ever thought to make it into a weapon. Therefore what it became was more like a spinning saw blade flying free.

It also happened incredibly fast. I was still trying to shake myself to full consciousness when my mind registered the terrible sounds of tortured metal breaking and smashing against unyielding walls. Had the room not been circular in design then the freed centrifuge would like had struck head on a flat wall and used up all its force. Because the room was circular though every time the metal came into contact with the wall it merely careened off and kept bouncing around the room expending its pent up energy by crushing the banks of machines and spiders around the room.

It seemed like the crashing sounds continued forever but in truth probably lasted only a few seconds at most. By the time I was able to turn my head the doorway we had just leapt through was filled with piles of rubble as the items tossed about by the centrifuge that hit these corners came to a stop and created a dam of sorts. There appeared to be no going back in that direction and my flashlight, still glowing thanks to the chemical sticks, left me with no desire to try moving the blood and hair covered rubble to go back the way we had came. Elaine and I were on our own for the moment.

I also noted that my landing had broken my crystal and left a sliver of it embedded in her arm. I pulled it free with an apology as she groggily opened her eyes.

"Molly what happened?" She asked.

"Uuuummm you blew up that room." I said. "But not to worry I got you out of there."

"You realize this is the second night in a row you have knocked me unconscious right?" She asked.

"Wow...I didn't know you planned to keep count." I said with a hint of a smile. Elaine did not return it. Some people have no sense of humor I guess.


	13. Chapter 13

**Semper Fidelis**

**_Chapter 13_**

Elaine and I made it to a sitting position but without the now broken tracking crystal to guide our path here in Undertown our mission became that much more difficult. I felt stupid for not having grabbed a backup crystal for this type of contingency but there was really no sense in berating myself over it now. Instead I did the logical thing of pulling out two of the sports bottle energy drinks and passing one of them to Elaine before I popped the top and guzzled mine down.

I guess I should have explained what was in the bottle, or at least mentioned it was not water because Elaine also took a big swig and swallow before realizing the substance was more or less high octane, sugared, espresso. To her credit she did not spit it out though she did start coughing.

"What the hell are we drinking?" She asked as she gasped for air after her first swallow.

"A little pick me up energy drink I like to have with me." I said taking another long sip of my own bottle. "After a battle I figure we both could use a little backup power incase round two wants to begin before we are rested and ready for it." I smiled in encouragement but in the dark I doubt she noticed.

"I'm good with the idea but did you have to pick one that tastes like fuel oil mixed with monkey piss." She complained as she sniffed the bottle and took another hesitant sip.

"I will bow to your obvious vast, superior, and high browed culinary experiences on that comparison." I replied with a laugh at my own words. Harry always says when you get handed an opportunity like this you have to snatch it up or the gods of sarcasm send you to an all day insurance seminar or some other Purgatory-like event.

Being sensitive I do not have to see a person sitting next to me to know they are smiling; Elaine however was not. Nor was it the only think that I sensed. "You know some of the personality traits Harry displays are really not something he should be passing along to an apprentice." She said with a trace of irritation. "I really think…"

"Shhhh…" I interrupted and even went so far as to cup my hand over Elaine's mouth so I could hear even better. I tried to ignore the mixed outrage and sense of personal space violation she felt at my act but I was certain I had heard faint and distant noises like footsteps coming from down the hallway in front of us rather than behind us where the rubble filled room was still making the occasional groaning type sounds. After these few seconds of silence without a repeat I was almost sure I was wrong and ready to apologize when we both heard the distinctive scrape of a hard shoe on the floor ahead in the darkness, this time even louder than when I had first heard it.

"Come on." I whispered and we stood up and pushed ourselves over against the side of the hallway. Once there I cast a quick veil over the two of us because I had the strength and could maintain this type of spell for longer periods than Elaine could. It was not a perfect defense of course but with no place to escape to and with God knows what coming down the hallway at us it was the best I could pull off at the moment until I knew just what we were facing on the friend versus threat spectrum. Of course with the way my luck had been running it was going to go wrong somehow I just knew it.

The single set of footsteps that I heard at a distance was now resolving itself to be many more than just one, a small troop by the sound of it. By perceiving this I was not totally surprised when half a dozen figures carrying torches, the real burning fiery stick kind not the battery operated plastic ones, came into view and paused only a few feet in front of us as they stared at the rubble filled doorway in obvious shock.

I remind you I said I was not totally surprised but that does not mean that there wasn't a little bit of shock coursing through my veins. You see the first five of the six were dressed pretty much like the Spartans in the movie 300 with the exception of the flowing red capes, shields, and helmets. Okay so for the benefit of those who have not seen that movie, or like some cute and perky apprentice wizards who shall remain nameless who advanced the movie frame by frame in these key scenes, the total attire of these five was limited to leather sandals that wrapped around the ankles and a red leather Speedo that all five seemed to have purposely bought about two sizes too small. Add to that their sweating bodies (remember this is late November) that glistened in the firelight of their torches were each absolutely perfectly sculpted and you have an image worthy of a little astonishment.

Why Molly how could such a thing be a shock you ask? Well besides the obvious one any person would have upon realizing Santa finally got my letter and was planning to give me exactly what I wanted for Christmas there was an added and unexpected bonus. The shocking part came when I realized that one of the five pieces of eye candy was none other than my brother Daniel. Thankfully I had not had any what would have been creepy thoughts about him specifically before I realized who he was but still I was split between being embarrassed to see him dress like this and dying to have someone, anyone, to tell about this to have a good laugh. Why can't there be a magic spell to take a Polaroid picture or something!

Of course I could not see Elaine because of the veil I had established but that did not mean I could not tell that she was enjoying the show as much as I was now enjoying eighty percent of it. The emotions I sensed flowing off of her toward the Spartan Chippendales made me almost blush; and if you know me you know I almost never blush. I leave it to your fertile imaginations to fill in these particular blanks though I will say that although Elaine may have expressed mental concerns about getting into a romantic relationship, physical and emotionally her body did not seem to object. It was so bad to sense I turned my focus toward the last member of these new arrivals in order to get those thoughts out of my head.

The sixth number of the troop was as different in physical form from the other five that a humanoid being could be. The one and only notable exception to this difference was that of gender, but even that was mostly a guess on my part.

Where the others like my brother were over six feet in height, the last member was less than four. Where the five were clean shaven, bodies waxed, and nearly oil-sheen glistening with sweat, number six had so much body hair in wire brush like clumps as to make me wonder if his genetic heritage was partly simian. And even though he was clothed in some heavy leather pants, shirt, and apron that each showed scorch marks like cigarette burns, tufts of wiry hair seemed to poke out from splits in sewn seams or those opening for arms and legs that made him look like the little guy was smuggling hedge hogs or something.

Worst of all his eyes focused unerringly on the spot where Elaine and I were standing demonstrating to both of us with an offered smile of black tobacco stained teeth that he could see us even under the veil I had cast to prevent that. "Spread out Dactyls it appears we have some visitors who want to spy on us." The little leader of the group said with just a slight tone of hostility and amusement in his voice.

To my surprise the five, including my brother, jumped to obey this command lining up across the width of the hallway with their glistening ripped muscled shoulders next to similar sweat beading muscled shoulders; hey like I said they really were nice to look at. Of course fate being the cruel bitch she is left Daniel as the hunky one standing closest to me and with his look of fierce determination that he usually only wore for sports.

"Not here to spy." I said dropping the veil and seeing all five of the guys tense at our appearance. I added calm and confidence to my tone and emotions so as not to project a sense of fear or guilt. Harry says confidence when dealing with things that can mop the floor with you often keeps them off balance and prevents them from mopping the floor with you; at least long enough to come up with another plan. "Just cautious when not knowing what else down here might be foolish considering trying kill us." To his credit Daniel's eyes widened only slightly more than the others upon recognizing me and to my benefit he decided not to pick up with where we had left off in our fight though obviously not out of fear of me after our last encounter.

"Ah you faced off against the Djieien and lived to tell of it?" The little hairy guy spoke at us with a sly smile. "That is very impressive. I have seen them take down ogres."

"Djieien?" Elaine asked confused.

"Yes, or some humans call them Tsuchi-Gumo." He replied. "I'm speaking of the giant spiders that made a home in the other room. I had thought they would make a good deterrent against uninvited visitors but I see I was mistaken as to their guardian capabilities." He paused and looked at the doorway and then back at us. "I assume you killed them?" He spoke with an odd sense of sadness like a boy would for his lost dog.

Before I could answer Daniel spoke up in anger. "Of course she did Master Rupert." He said to the little guy drawing his full attention. "My sister has a unique talent to cause a wide swath of destruction in her wake. I'm surprised the tunnel still stands though since none of the damage ever seems to land on her I guess it should be expected."

Any initial irritation Master Rupert might have initially had at his apprentice speaking out of turn was offset by this revelation of shared parentage. "Herakles this one is your sister?" He said with a smile to my brother who did not choose to return the gesture. "Now that you mention it not only is there some physical resemblance between the two of you that I should have noticed immediately but also a shared air of confidence and a taste of arrogance that is rare in those of your limited age."

"She's a wizard Master Highpelt." Daniel said the word 'wizard' with an obvious sense of disgust. I know this because through my trained observer skills I was able to notice that my brother spat on the ground by my feet with an undisguised sneer toward me as he spoke. I know, it's really a subtle message but we sensitive wizard apprentices pick up on these things. "Arrogance like destruction goes hand in hand with magic."

A combination of instant rage and guilt built up in me at his words. My brother had an unnatural skill for pressing my buttons and I am certain if Harry knew about this he would use Daniel often to see if I could keep my emotions in check while casting spells. And at moments like this I would fail terribly. If my brother had magic there is no doubt he would be my own cross to bear; a self righteous Warden like Morgan who hounds Harry at every step.

"I've been a wizard almost my entire life and I've yet to feel confident, much less arrogant for five minutes of all that time." Elaine said directly to Daniel in a straight tone of voice that rang with as much open honesty as any words my dad had ever spoken. Even Daniel leaned slightly back as he considered these words and especially the way that Elaine avoided looking at him when his gaze turned to her. It was not the act of a wizard trying to avoid a soul gaze but rather the far more common look of a person afraid of their own shadow and being forced to admit it. Given that my brother is only an ass to me, I could sense he felt his earlier words about wizards that had struck Elaine as well had been in error.

Thankfully this awkward moment was handled by the dwarf. "Well your standing nearly on me own doorstep and you obviously have a tale to tell so let's get back so I can get an honest day's work out of these goldbrickers!" Rupert Highpelt turned his eyes from us and back to his nearly naked squad of helpers. "Off with ye now and get the forges stoked up likes I showed ye. We got orders remaining to fill this night." He commanded and all five of the young men turned and immediately did so with only Daniel showing any sign of hesitation and even that being less than half an instant's worth of delay. God the dwarf, or what I assumed to be a dwarf, had a better natural ability to order people around than my mother which is saying a lot.

Rupert Highpelt without a word of further invitation to us fell into a steady march behind his crew and even though his legs were short Elaine and I had to walk briskly to keep up with the heavy clod of his feet upon the tunnel floor. He did not look at us as he led us back to his underground workshop but that did not keep him from speaking. "By your attire you have dealings with the Faerie Courts but you are fully human if my eyes judged ye right so that must make you Emissaries of some sort." He deducted and spoke these words without any sense of doubt.

"That is correct Master Highpelt." I replied seeing no reason to try and hide what he obviously concluded. I let us march a few more steps to see if he would react but my comment had not evoked any type of reaction in him that I could sense. For that matter I did not sense any emotion about him, which was a first since I came into my powers and understood how I naturally did so. Either he was incredibly controlled or he had some natural ability to block my magical senses just like he saw through my veil. So it was time to take it up a notch and see which it was. It's always good to know as much about someone's abilities as possible.

"We are here regarding rumors that you are building weapons." I said adding a sense of accusation to my tone to try and up his response a bit. I did not mention that I myself had started these rumors and thankfully Elaine did not choose to add that little fact either. But the accusation evoked nothing I could sense meaning emotionally the little guy was like Teflon.

"Ain't rumors little girl." He said even though I towered over him by two feet at least. We stepped into the pillared cavernous room that served as his forge area and were hit by a wave of heat from the molten metal that brushed away the lingering cold and hand me nearly breaking out in a sweat after only a few moments. The impressiveness is that these vats of lava like liquid were on the far side of the room, quite a distance away from where the conversation was taking place.

He pointed over to a stack of odd shaped metal objects piled in the corner on wooden pallets obviously waiting for delivery. They looked more like the fenders of a car than any type of weapon I had ever seen but obviously our host considered them to be weapons by his words. He even turned and offered us another tobacco stained smile of obvious pride though I still could not sense the emotion.

"They are very impressive." I said looking at them and nodding. "What are they?"

The little man looked at me and cocked an eyebrow. "They are armor kits for protecting the vehicles and soldiers your country has driving around in the desert from bombs they hide in camels and bury in the ground." He said in response.

"You mean the Up Armor Kits the military has been buying?" Elaine asked obviously knowing what the dwarf was talking about. "I thought that those contracts went to Chrysler and other weapon producers."

"They did." He said with a smile. "And all of them subcontracted the actual work back to me because they knew quality was required. I build them and then they slap a company logo sticker on the pieces and sell them for a bundle of cash to your government. We have been doing this kind of business for years now."

"So I guess that means you take on special projects for the government; like making these tunnels perhaps?" I said now thinking I understood the secretive role the dwarf might play. Hell if Harry had fairies working at shoe stores, White Court vampires were doing porn movies, and even the Lady of Winter sidelined when necessary as a hair stylist why would this arrangement seem so odd?

"I'm afraid it wasn't my clan that built these tunnels, though I know the dwarves who did." He said. "I merely set up shop here as an out of the way place that fit me needs a while ago and contract for various services as required. It keeps me busy, pays my bills, and puts food on the table if you know what I mean." He looked over at Daniel who was at the moment holding an impossibly large sledge hammer in one hand and beating upon a U-shaped piece of molten steel.

The good thing about dealing with Faeries is that they were forbidden to lie when asked a direct question. Of course I am not sure if dwarves actually qualified as Fae based upon the history I had been provided. Maybe they could lie outright and I would never know but it was worth a try. "So you are saying you only build weapons for the government?"

"That is only a small, but highly lucrative, part of my business." He said with no sense of trying to hide anything he was doing. "I also make everything from horseshoes to piping based upon my customer's needs and individual specifications. Your brother has been doing a lot of that basic work for me as he learns the trade. He has a fine eye and natural talent but he is still an apprentice who has yet to master the finer techniques on how to swing a hammer or when the steel is ready to be poured. I figure a few thousand horseshoes and a hundred miles or so of pipe and he will be ready for the truly challenging aspects of this career."

He had answered my question but had avoided the really subject that I was trying to get to so I was forced to be even more direct. "What about making weapons for the Winter Court?" I asked while displaying my pin to show him who I represented.

"Bah I hate working with copper and bronze. I leave that type of work to the dwarven clans in the Wyldfae areas to handle." Rupert replied with a gob of spit on the ground at his own feet that was as black as his teeth and seemed to bubble. Can I say 'yuck' and that this would make the best anti-tobacco commercial you could ever devise? "I prefer working cold hard iron and steel and of course Faerie's could not even hold such a weapon in their hands as its touch would be death to them."

The look Elaine gave me was one that she believed the dwarf and that my guess for this entire adventure had been wrong. While she was not judging me for this error, the fact that I had made it in front of her, and of course nearly getting us both killed by a group of spiders because of it made me even more self conscious. But I was not completely ready to abandon this thought just yet. I still had one fact he had not adequately explained away.

"What about the steel knife with my brother's initials in it?" I asked. "Seems to me that this type of weapons is not something the Army has been looking for."

The dwarf turned to face me head on. I noted that his eyes were rather deep set and dark so as to make them look almost beady. "Girl it is obvious you know nothing about the metal trades." He said with an air of deadly seriousness. "From the earliest days when a master smith took on an apprentice the first thing they were required to craft was a dagger to show they understood the skills of pouring, shaping, and filing. When the blade was nearing completion an apprentice was required to mark it with whatever they claimed as their own symbol which was recorded thereafter in the smith records, much the same as your society of Freemasons did when working with stone. The completed dagger was a badge of proof to those in the know that the individual in question had been accepted as a true apprentice and not merely laid claim to the title in order to make money. Through this the reputation of metal workers is as protected as that of your medical doctors today and their diplomas."

Okay it was obvious Master Highpelt took his occupation quite seriously and that our questions and even our presence were no longer desired in his work spaces. "Dactyl Herakles, your work day is complete. Change back to your street clothes and report to me immediately!" The dwarf bellowed above the background ringing din of metal striking metal that was nearly deafening if one tended to focus solely upon it.

My brother perked up at the call of his obvious title and began efficiently cleaning his work station, dunking the glowing metal horseshoe he was working in a bucket of water and then placing the now cool project to the side. Next he organized and ensured all his tools were hanging in the proper place while Master Highpelt watched in judgment.

Daniel was efficient but not rushed, and from the look the dwarf gave him this added delay was exactly what he expected from my brother. Meanwhile the other four apprentices continued working on their various sections of pipe without even pausing to look up at their summoned compatriot or their master. Discipline was obvious as important to an apprentice metal smith as it was to and apprentice wizards it seemed.

"Dactyl?" Elaine asked obviously as confused by this strange word as I. "Is that term somehow related to pterodactyls?"

"No." Master Highpelt responded. "The Dactyls were the first beings that the god Hephaestus taught metal working on the peak of Mount Ida in Phrygia. He named the first four Aeonius, which is Greek for forefinger, Epimedes, middle finger, Jasius, ring finger, and Idas little finger. The last he named Herakles who was to represent the thumb of the hand. In this way Hephaestus thought of his students as providing him with a third hand able to assist with his metal crafting work." The dwarf answered without having to think on this.

"So you have named them the same in order to follow this tradition?" I asked hoping I was not about to find out the little dwarf was actually the former Greek god. I made a promise to myself that one ancient deity per year is all I was allowed to cross paths with.

"According to the code all true master smiths always take on five apprentices at the same time in order to follow this original tradition and we name them accordingly so that we never forget our heritage." Rupert acknowledged. "However which title they receive is based upon their demonstrated skill compared to that of their compatriots not when they arrived or who they replaced. As the little finger is the least useful on the hand so the Idas title goes to the least skilled of the apprentices."

I remembered learning once that the thumb is one of those rare evolutionary traits that set man apart from the animals. In fact there were a lot of studies that said without an opposable thumb mankind's technology would be severely hampered. That made the thumb the most important digit on the hand as I understood it to be.

"And that would make Daniel is your most talented apprentice?" I asked rationalizing what this naming convention meant. "But he just started with you a few weeks ago."

"Indeed." Rupert replied. "His natural skill is unmatched or even challenged by any of the others. He is lesser to them only in experience and even in that way he is quickly closing the gap." He seemed to pause and make a subtle sigh. "I will be saddened by his loss."

The words, though lacking emotion, seemed ominous none the less. "What do you mean loss?" I asked. "Are you planning on firing him?"

He stopped and looked at me. "Not at all." He said with that dark smile of his. "Only the Herkales is allowed to promote from the level of apprentice to full smith. When his time comes your brother will move on to a better place than merely as my apprentice."

"So the others will never become full smiths?" Elaine asked. "That seems rather unfair."

"Not necessarily. When Daniel is no longer among us I will seek out a new apprentice to keep the number at five." Rupert replied. "Based on testing all five apprentices' skills the names shall be properly issued once more. I can assure you unlike myself all of the others are looking forward to this day to hopefully allow them a chance to be promoted to Herkales. Only rarely has a new apprentice like Daniel taken the top slot upon arrival so it is unlikely to happen a second time in their lifetimes, or at least that is what they all are hoping for."

I wondered what that type of apprenticeship would be like. Would the competition among the students make them better or would it cause unnecessary distraction and rivalry preventing them from truly becoming friends. I mean I knew I was a handful for Harry at times, this little incident with a fire in his lab came to mind, so I could not even being to think of how he would cope if he had a second not possibly as cute and perky apprentice to train as well.

Then I caught a look of Elaine out of the corner of my eye and realized that this was in a way what she had faced in her own training. Harry had been a student with Justin DuMorne for years before Elaine had joined them and as such he was always further along in his studies even though Harry said she was a very quick learner. Add to that the fact that Harry had an incredible amount of natural talent, an incredibly rare gift that made him probably one of the twenty most powerful wizards on the planet and you have a rather high bar to be judged against. According to him, he merely lacked the fine level of control for all that power.

Elaine on the other hand was weaker but naturally demonstrated far greater control so while Harry could shoot ten shots to hit a target before exhausting himself, Elaine could likewise succeed with only two or three. As far as an outsider to the world of magic was concerned that would make them equal as they both knocked down the target. But by the way wizards measure things Harry was the stronger because he could draw forth more magic to have ten shots as his disposal rather than just a handful. That meant to them that Elaine could do well in a straight up fight against one or two opponents, or only one with they had defensive magics to call upon, but more than that and she would be overwhelmed.

I had little doubt that this in part led to her current emotional predicament. Harry was not the type to hold an advantage over anyone he considered a friend and he was extremely careful of the feelings of those he cared about. In fact, I even assumed that his caring nature had partly been responsible for Elaine falling into love, and eventually his bed, with him when they were both still just kids.

But while Harry may not have lorded his superior skill over her, that did not mean Justin had not done so. From what I had been told of him Justin was just the type to heaped praised on Harry not because he was truly pleased but merely so that by doing he subtly cut down Elaine's pride. Since pride built the will to resist it would serve his long term goals to keep her weak. And then when she understood that Justin had chosen to enthrall her to help him do the same to Harry her master had confirmed that she was the lesser of the two; a fact further proven when Harry defeated the both of them. It's hard to build self worth under those conditions.

Daniel showed back up a few moments later wearing the same street clothes he had on when we had scuffled in the parking lot. I noticed now that the letterman jacket he wore, the biggest size the school made which had always been a little bulky on him even when wearing a sweater, was now stretched rather tightly across his chest. Having seen what his apprenticeship had done for his already sports trained muscles I must admit I was not surprised.

"Sir you requested me?" Daniel said with a touch of inherent pride and subservience in his voice all at the same time.

"Aye lad." Rupert replied. "Our Emissaries here thought we were making illegal weapons and now that I have removed them of this notion they will be wanting to get about their business." He turned to look at us but mostly at me as if he knew more about us than he was admitting. "And since they have now made the west tunnel impassable for some time I need you to take them through the northern gate and ensure they arrive back to the University?" He asked the last word as a question as if seeking confirmation of where our car was or where we needed to be.

I nodded. "That will be fine." I said noting that Daniel was not pleased by what he was hearing even though by his demeanor he was not about to disobey an order from his master. I thought about how often I had ignored Harry's orders. I guess in some ways Daniel and I are quite a bit different after all. Course this situation did not stop him from getting even angrier at me.

"Master, why don't we just bring them up top with the elevator?" Daniel asked getting a flickering look of annoyance from Rupert as payment for this question. "It exits right on the campus as well and would be quicker."

"Because _apprentice_…" The dwarf stressed the word as an obvious discussion of just who was in charge. "…I need the elevator and the others to start hauling the armor kits up for the delivery I need to make tonight since I will now be one man short. I hope you don't mind if my goal remains meeting my commitments rather than providing for your family's convenience." Daniel cringed at this rebuke.

"I am sorry master." He said. "I will do as you so ordered." Daniel even hung his head to lower his eyes beneath those of Master Highpelt, which when faced with someone already two feet shorter than you is not an easy trick. However it seemed to be the correct response.

"As I was saying apprentice, show them the respect due to Emissaries and take them out the north gate and back to their car." He repeated the order but with a kinder tone. "And be wary of things wandering the tunnels. I have enjoyed your services these past few weeks and will miss them when you move on. Doing so because you inadvertently became something's snack will not make me any happier."

"It will be as you say master." Daniel said and Rupert merely nodded then wandered off to go check up on his other charges. "Ladies if you will kind enough to follow me." The way he stressed ladies left little doubt that while sounding respectful he was still only being professionally courteous not because he truly cared.

Daniel grabbed an actual ancient fuel oil lamp from a closed beside the door that contained a dozen or so more, lit it, and then began to lead us back through the tunnels. He kept a quick pace that had us nearly rushing at his heels but he showed no signs of caring. I knew if I spoke and asked him to slow down then he would likely only speed up that much more because that was the way our current sibling relationship was.

It was Elaine though who came to my rescue. "Daniel, can you slow down?" She gasped in a voice that flowed with both exhaustion and fear. "I don't want to be away from the light."

"Are you afraid of the dark?" He asked snidely, obviously caught up in his own rage at me and not having heard the same inflection in Elaine's voice or felt her emotions the way I did. Guys are emotionally retarded most times anyway and when distracted by something this only gets worse.

"Yes." Elaine answered causing Daniel, who now heard everything in the single word, to come to a complete stop. I paused too but Elaine continued to nearly run up next to him and into the glow of the lamp. Through its light I could make out that she seemed to be actually shaking a bit in fear. This drew my brother's attention as well.

"I'm sorry I was distracted and not thinking." He said as an awkward apology. The look he gave her was genuine. Guys, or at least the good ones, feel guilty from making girls feel bad. It's something tattooed into their DNA I think.

"It's okay." Elaine said after a bit. "If I were as big as you then I probably would not fear much either."

"What do you mean?" Daniel asked confused.

"You." She replied. "You are big and strong. Anything wanting to take you on would see that. You also walk with a sense of determination and confidence almost daring things to challenge you."

"I do not." He said trying to deny what someone was telling him since he did not feel it was true. "Besides you're a wizard, or at least I assume you are if you are hanging out with my sister. That means you have all kinds of powers at your disposal. How could you possibly be afraid of anything?" I stayed at the very edge of the light so that I would not distract these two from their conversation by reminding Daniel I was here just now. But I wanted to get back to the car before all this talk of fear drew things to us so I shifted nervously as they talked on.

"Having access to that power does not make you invincible." Elaine said. "There was a time long ago when I thought it could. But then I learned all too well not only that my power could not protect me from everything, but also that it actually made me even more of a target for some truly horrible things than if I did not have this 'gift.' I'd give it up in a heartbeat this very instant if it meant I did not have to always be afraid."

The words struck home with Daniel as they were presented in a way that I could never have got him to listen to much less understand. But Elaine was not me. She was a wizard sure, just like me, but she was also obviously scared and there was no way she could be faking that. So it left all his assumptions about what it was to be a wizard in complete disarray.

"I advise we keep going." I said hating to break in but also knowing that just standing here talking about being afraid while carrying a big beacon light was just begging for trouble to come calling for us. And surprisingly for once when Daniel looked in my direction he merely nodded and started onward.

"Come on then, the exit to the shelter tunnel is only a little ways ahead." He said while reaching out and taking Elaine's hand in a completely normal gesture of protection. I noted in the light that she instantly tensed at his touch but then instead of pulling back she seemingly willed herself to be pulled along and even offered him a bit of a smile at his casual display of kindness. I was torn between saying something teasing or just sticking to the edge of the light; I chose the latter.

"If I can ask what happened to you in your life?" Daniel whispered quietly to Elaine but down here in the tunnels where sound had few places to travel I could still hear what he said. "What made you so afraid?"

I walked on with my head looking toward my feet as I listened to what they said between them. I could sense when either Daniel or Elaine looked my way but with my eyes directed elsewhere they both relaxed a little more and decided I was not listening.

"I had someone evil get into my head when I was about fifteen and brought all my darkest fears of childhood and adulthood to light in my mind where I could not hide from them." She answered sending my brother's emotions for another loop for it might have been his own story. "I had locked them all away as I grew up but he broke them free and threw them right back in my face. And some he even made worse than I ever imagined they could be." She said ashamed by what she was revealing. "Since then I've never been able to get them back under control or even get a decent night's sleep."

"I know what that's like." Daniel said in a whisper and tightened his hand on hers. My brother truly is a good guy; having a Knight of the Cross for a father pretty much assures this to some degree, but his soul was kind and generous. By having someone who had faced the same situation he did and could talk to him about it, someone still suffering, someone who was giving him a way to face his own fears by lending her the strength to face hers was probably the perfect outlet. I wish I could have taken credit for manipulating this situation but I suspect this was one of those subtle types of things that someone like Uriel had arranged.

"What was your worst one?" Elaine asked Daniel almost like two kids sharing a secret. "What one wakes you up in a sweat at night with your heart racing and does not allow you to fall back asleep?"

"I see myself failing my family and those I loved." Daniel replied reminding me with his words and the way he spoke them of my father. "Did you ever have that type of dream happen to you?" I could feel him reaching out emotionally to build a bridge of empathy.

"No." Elaine said momentarily inadvertently pushing him away. "I was an orphan when he tortured me. I have already failed everyone I have ever loved long ago. So this is no longer a fear that can be used against me. It is instead the reality I am forced to live with." She said without looking at him though I could see with a quick glance he was staring at her because he almost cracked his head on a low overhang.

"So what was your worst fear then?" Daniel asked trying to get her to talk more.

"Spiders." Elaine said making me nearly cough in surprise. "Justin made me imagine being all tied up where I could not move and having spiders crawling all over my body." She shuddered as she told the story and I have to say the idea creeped me out a bit too but that probably had a little to do with the fact I was walking along in the dark and occasionally broke a strand of webbing with my face or hands. That stringy sticky feeling on bare skin in the dark made me quickly brush it off.

Daniel tried to cough a laugh. "You are kidding right?" He said making her tense up emotionally as if she were being insulted but I could sense his underlying emotion of wanting to help. He was a guy so was doing it wrong, but his intention was good. "You just killed a dozen or so of the biggest spiders I've ever seen or even imagined. I would think that kind of victory should help dispel that particular fear at least for a while." His laugh was comradely and trying to perk her spirits up but it was only partially successful.

"I did not kill any of them." Elaine admitted in a flat tone. "I only injured two and neither all that badly from what I can tell. I have your sister's quick thinking to thank for keeping me alive. Had she not only pulled me free from the web line but also told me where to cast my spell I'd be little more than a rather big fly right about now." She said and I barely had time to stare at the floor as Daniel looked back in my direction to see if my facial expression would tell him she was lying.

"But aren't you a full wizard and isn't she just an apprentice?" He asked not wanting to believe what he heard.

"Sure." Elaine agreed. "But as Harry's apprentice your sister has already faced off and battled against things that would send me fleeing in panic. Add to that a rather incredible story I heard from both Harry and a Warden name Ramirez, your sister has also dealt with some pretty incredible events all on her own when Harry was out of town last spring." She spoke just loud enough for me to hear and I could tell there was an odd sense of respect in her words. I felt embarrassed that Carlos had told her the story. He probably did to get a date since he had played a key part in it. I had only told Harry most, but not all, of the events but it seems my attempt to keep it quiet had failed utterly.

"Add to all of that the fact that she is forced to live under a death sentence if she screws up and knows as well that any slip up she makes will cost not only her life but that of someone she loves and respects as well and I have to say she is hardly 'just an apprentice.'" Elaine finished while I was still reeling. "I was 'just an apprentice' once and I never had to handle any test like these until my master tried to break my will; and I failed that particular test."

We walked in silence for the last few hundred feet until we came to a stairway up leading to an iron grated exit in what looked to be another way back onto the campus. Daniel fiddled with the rusty chain that seemed to secure this gate and it popped open without any fuss. While the iron bars appeared rusted he pushed them open without even a sound and as he passed through the light from his lamp revealed a heavy dose of grease had been applied to the hinges not all the long ago. Beside the door was a faded yellow sign with a triangle on it declaring this place had once been a fallout shelter, likely built in the fifties for the government scientists still working on the campus. I wondered if the government or anyone on campus even remembered this place existed.

The stairs led to a mostly hedge covered outside alcove of a building that based upon the broken bottles of alcohol, cigarette packages, and empty condom wrappers appeared to be a popular make out spot during the warmer months. The fact that no one cleaned up here made me sure that the college and government authorities never spent any time here.

"I parked my car over by the physics building." Elaine said to Daniel as the two walked out of the overhang, through the hedges and onto the snowy path. "How far away is that building?" She said bracing against the cold wind as some snow fell from above and landed on their shoulders. They both brushed it off in annoyance. I had to remember that Elaine spent most of her life in California and the Summer Court. The waning days of a year in Chicago had nothing in common with either of those locations.

"No too far." Daniel said. "We will all be toasty warm and safe in less than ten minutes."

The giant spider's mandibles came shooting down from above the pair tauntingly just as the word safe escaped Daniel's mouth. They both sensed the movement but only Daniel was able to react in time, pushing Elaine away from him and into a snow bank away from the creature. This meant only he was standing between them when the scissors like appendages closed around his arms and torso.

There was a burst of blood and a scream of pain. I saw my brother tossed like a rag doll twenty feet or more by the descending ten foot wide spider while someone screamed my brother's name. It was only when he landed and did not move that I realized I was the one screaming.


	14. Chapter 14

**Semper Fidelis**

**_Chapter 14_**

Still in the alcove that the Undertown tunnel exited out into left me currently in a space too small for the giant spider to reach, or at least that is how it seemed. That is not to say it did not try. The thing I had going for me is that nowhere in the evolution of arachnids did the eight legged creatures gain the ability to open smaller closed containers. Spider legs could not contort to create the necessary sort of leverage needed to pry open the tunnel that I was standing in. I guess I should be thankful I was not facing off against a giant otter or some other creature that pried its food open for a living.

When it realized that I was outside of its immediate grasp, instead of continuing to focus upon me it turned toward Elaine who was still trying to find her balance in the snow. The combination of Elaine's earlier revelations about spiders, how well our group of four did in our earlier battle against smaller specimens, and finally with what I saw this particular one did to my brother made me fairly certain this would be a fairly one-sided battle unless I did something damn effectively and almost immediately.

Harry has always given me two rather contradictory pieces of advice in my time as his apprentice. The first was that as a wizard I was supposed to be in total control of my emotions at all times because if I lost control I would put those around me as well as myself in danger. But by the same token at other times in other situations he had also told me that by tapping into my emotions I was better able to fuel my spells to a greater level than I could naturally achieve without. This left me with the standard apprentice catch-22 of using my own judgment to know when to ignore Harry's original advice and follow his secondary advice. Watching my brother tossed aside like a bag of refuse made me decide that that now would certainly qualify as a good time to let loose with emotions to fuel my spells.

Elaine had finally made it to her feet, fear obviously being a very fine motivator to not face death lying in a snow bank, and spun her flail three times in a circle before releasing another of her nearly patented lightning spells. From my angle I could see both her and the creature. As I was nearly completing my own spell I could see her bolt of electrical energy strike the creature right in its face with such force as to make the mandibles spark. I really did not have the ability to observe more as I focused upon finishing my own casting. I called forth "Fuego!" and tossed the biggest ball of flame I'd ever cast at the back of the giant arachnid.

For those who have listened to Harry speak about doing similar such things my blast of flames was no way comparable to the raw molten destruction that he can channel when he gets pissed off at something big and nasty. Up until this point in my magical career I had only been able on my best day, well it was more akin to my absolutely worst day in retrospect, made a basketball sized ball of napalm like flames. While this is truly impressive to those unskilled at magic, much like how a frozen TV dinner would be immensely desirable to someone starving, but it was hardly a seven course feast or a truly awesome display of magic to a real practitioner.

My attack this time was a beach ball sized blast, fueled by my wrath and overriding fear for my brother. The flaming mass shot unerringly from my hand and slammed into the bulbous backside of the spider as it tried to spin toward me sticking to its hair and flesh while drawing the creature's attention and rage directly back upon me. This gave Elaine a chance to put some more distance between her and the spider while I stayed safe for the moment in this alcove and tried to plan out my next move.

My emotions screamed for me to race to Daniel but Harry's repeatedly drilled lessons to think before acting, something he has been known to ignore for himself upon occasion, kept me from throwing my life away on some desperate play that was not required at the moment. Elaine was gaining ground and at least here in the alcove I was safe from the creature's reach. Well that is what my mind told me was supposed to happen.

As the spider's legs spun it back around to face me I saw that Elaine's electrical spell still sparked and crackled over its mandibles and just on instinct I threw my left army up and called forth a shield in the space between us. The fact that I had been drilled on this as well allowed it to form only an instant before the spider released at me Elaine's spell it had caught and trapped. The half circular dome of energy lit up with an instant of bright blue crackling power as it reflected the electrical bolt away from me and sent it coursing to the ceiling and then ricocheting down the stairway behind me.

Lucky for me there had not been a wall behind me or the bolt would likely have bounced again and struck me in my unshielded back. This would almost certainly have sent me flying right into the spider's maw. That was one of the reasons Harry had explained to me as why he rarely used lightning; because it had this terrible ability to bounce around and hit things not intended to be a target. Fire, he said, was fluid and easier and just splashed up against objects when it encountered them. Considering the number of building he had burnt down in his career I had to agree that less controllable lightning with all the power he could throw behind a spell might not be such a good idea.

All that aside for the moment, what the hell was this with a spider being able to capture and hold a spell before firing it at another target? Sure I had heard Harry talk about wizards able to do things like this by allowing the attacking magic to flow into them and be redirected. This required a very skill wizard able to tune himself to the right 'magical frequency' of the spell as well as being able to store that level of magical energy within themselves; neither of which was something that allowed for mistakes or practice.

Alternatively wizards could instill magic into some natural objects like staffs or wands with this type of ability providing the objects were made from magically conductive materials like lightning struck trees. I know that ivory was sometimes used for such things as well but while that may be an animal-based material I had never heard of an animal as the natural owner that could accomplish this type of action. At best some were resistant to spells, just like dwarves were, but that just meant the creatures shrugged off these kinds of magical attacks. It was not supposed to mean they could use them themselves. Looks like my learning books had a serious gap.

As I was considering this educational issue another part of my mind was registering and not liking the way the giant arachnid's six eyes were staring at me. I kept my transparent shield up but decided I'd veiled myself as well and then moved over to the other side of the alcove so it could not focus upon me while I developed a quick plan.

There was something about those six eyes though that tickled my memories. I remembered that most species of spiders had eight eyes, which balanced off against their eight legs but that some of the move uniquely evolved breeds had only six because they had adapted other unique skill sets. If this followed through for the larger sized creatures that meant this one in front of me probably also knew how to…

A black tarry goop of spit-like substance flew unerringly at me and thankfully splattered against my shield rather than upon my body. This made the magic in the spell actually begin to bubble like it was reacting to acid while the gelatinous spittle spewed off noxious fumes as well. Yep, spitting spiders only had six eyes and they shot a paralytic, venomous webbing at their targets that was also acidic to tenderize their next meal. I kept my shield in place even though it was somewhat weakened but released my veil since the spider could obviously sense where I was even when I was hidden behind it. This whole situation was quickly deteriorating from incredibly dangerous to damn near impossible!

Okay sneaking forward was out of the question as was running back down the stairs to Undertown since I had to get to my brother and who knows what else was lurking down below. My magic had obviously the spider by its burned flesh but on a body its size it was more of an annoying sunburn than a debilitating injury. It would take a dozen or so more blows at that level, which was beyond my ability, before I likely caused it any serious damage. And now standing here the mixture of the acidic fumes and natural sedative contained in the webbing to make prey less likely to fight or flee I began to feel groggy after only a few seconds of breathing these. Ok so staying put was not going to work for me either. I hated to admit it but I needed Elaine to do something and to do it quick or we were finished.

The spider suddenly spun away from me just as I sensed Elaine, or who I assumed to be Elaine, call up magic and then release another spell. Instinct and opportunity had me drop my shield and racing for sudden opportunity for freedom and I launched myself to skid beneath the legs of the creature as it turned in order to try to reach the outside and fresh air.

Had I been Karrin Murphy Aikido master extraordinaire then I would likely have drawn my sword and gutted the beast as I slid beneath it while simultaneously pumping a clip worth of nine millimeter shots into its head and shattering half its legs with perfect martial kicks to the knees; that is if spiders actually have knees. But I'm Molly, apprentice only ordinary so I was content with reaching a spot freedom away from the snow drift lined building where I was able to fight or flee as required.

Once I did clamor through the forest of legs and reach the other side though I did draw my new sword, mostly to have it readily available because spells obviously were not working as they should. The three foot blade looked entirely inadequate for the job of filleting a ten foot spider.

I noted that the creature was still facing Elaine, possibly oblivious to the fact that I had relocated, and that the electrical energy from her last spell of lightning was just clicking between in mandibles. I knew what was coming by the way the spider's body tensed so I willed up another spell that came to me purely on instinct.

"Elaine, dodge now!" I ordered and she leapt to the left, and to the right, and forward, and back, and even straight up, while she also stood in exactly the same place she had been. The five illusionary copies I made of her all scattered in order to confuse the creature. My hope was to accomplish just like I had done to its smaller cousins back in the centrifuge room when we had veiled her and made it look like she was following me no longer trapped on the web strand. This time though the plan went completely wrong as the spider's eyes, all six, seemed inexplicably locked on the real Elaine rather than any of the other five copies which completely went against the law of averages.

The lightning bolt she had fired at the beast and it had caught again was now hurled back unerringly at her only to strike home and send her skidding across the snowy ground as well while the electricity danced upon her body. Okay, like veils it seems that illusions did not work on this creature either. This whole situation was becoming totally unfair and I planned to lodge a formal complaint to someone in the future, but I did not have time to worry about just then as the spider followed up its attack by charging forward, seemingly planning to finish Elaine off while she was down. That would only leave me fighting which I did not rate as a successful strategy for victory so I had to do something quick, which in my world usually means something stupid.

I drew in magic as I charged the space between the creature and the building summoning up magic and preparing a spell with my left hand and adjusted the grip on the sword in my right. As I suspected the creature was sensitive to magic and therefore my actions and reacted to this threat; who knew there were magically sensitive spiders? It spun around counterclockwise to face me, likely hoping to catch my spell in its mandibles as well I guess, or at least trying to trap me with the building's outer wall to my back if I tried to sneak past it again.

The average person would likely have noted this tactic and then tried to stay behind the rotating spider. However for a ten foot wide monster it was also surprisingly agile and I would have quickly exhausted myself running in circles had I chosen that particular course of action. And that only if I had not inadvertently slipped on the snow and ice and broken my ankle in the process which would have made me a simple pick drive thru snack in the process. So instead of running to my right once it began to spin I continued my run to the left in order to make sure I ended up right between it and the snow drift covered side of the building just in time for my next trick.

If this were some cool novel there would be a convenient giant icicle hanging over the top of the spider waiting to be dislodged and impale the beast. Let me remind you however that we were standing outside on a college campus. There was no convenient overhanging rain gutter or tree anywhere in sight. That left me with an apprentice's imagination and a prayer. So just as I made it to the narrowest part of my course directly between the wall and the spider's rather ugly face which was clicking its magic catching mandibles only five feet away I released my spell and thanked myself for thinking to down that energy drink earlier to recharge my own energy levels.

"_Ventas servitas"_ I called forth a gale-like burst of wind that Harry had taught me. Okay maybe it was not an actual gale per say since that word brings to mind unconfined natural destruction capability, but I did conjure a fairly decent instant gust of wind which is really all I actually needed. Instead of trying to blow a ten foot monster off the planet I aimed the spell directly behind me at the building without even looking at what I was doing. Meanwhile I prayed that Maeve had not lied about the properties of my new wardrobe or this was going to hurt something fierce.

Had Harry cast this same spell he would have almost assuredly blown down the wall to the building behind me or the entire building which would not have helped him in the least except to give him even further credit for another structure destroyed. As I have explained many times though I am not in Harry's class when casting destructive spells of this nature.

So instead of blowing down the wall, all my spell did was act like a giant snow blower, converting the four foot snowdrift right behind me into a swirling maelstrom of small icy needles that first slammed against the wall and then reflected straight back at the two of us. I was of course thankfully protected by my new Winter Fae attire that did not let this cold attack so much as mess up my hair. The giant spider, however, and especially its six large dinner plate sized eyes, had no such protections as the razor sharp slivers of ice and snow carried on the cold wave washed across its face.

"Catch that spell bitch!" I laughed as I watched the creature shutter in pain at this unexpected attack that screwed with its eyes. No creature with vision likes its eyes damaged and the spider was no exception.

If you have never had ice crystals blown in your eyes, which is a fairly common threat in winter in the Windy City, then you probably do not understand that while it will not likely blind you permanently it does hurt like hell both from the sharp little icy edges on your eyeballs feeling much like grains of sand and the bitter cold coming into contact with the only external, constantly wet part of your body. The spider would blink off the attack after a bit most likely but the pain would be with it for a while and the spider's vision would still be blurry for a few minutes at least. All in all that was not as good as an illusion or a veil to distract the creature, but hey it's better than nothing which would lead to being listed on the dinner menu.

As the spider tried to shake off the unexpected snowy attack I raced on past the creature to get over to a place where I could try to protect Elaine and my brother. I also made sure to put everything I had into one really strong swing of my sword as I charged past targeting its front right leg since I was not going to get any closer to the body or especially the mandibles on the face than I had to at the moment.

Like I said the creature was only five feet away from me so it's not like I went out of my way to make this attack or anything. I was happy to see the blade slice right through the spider's tough hairy flesh and even felt it crack bone, though it was not comparable to the mighty Vorpal Blade of Divine Sharpness that does triple damage against arachnids or anything that cool. I realized now those Arcanos games really bias a person's judgment when they are fighting actual monsters. Okay not something most of you have to concern yourself with but still…

I reached Elaine first based not on choice but rather upon the geography of the battlefield. She had picked herself up out of the snow by this time looking even less stable on her feet than the last time she had stood up. To her credit she was twirling her flail again getting ready to launch yet another blast of lightning it seemed to me. "Don't!" I screamed noting out of the corner of my eye that the spider was already turning to face this new spell as whatever it used to sense magic was not focused in its eyes. "It can somehow sense magic and will just throw your spell back at us again."

"Well I'm not going to go up and rub its tummy hoping its rolls over and surrenders to my good nature." Elaine replied back sarcastically at me which I took as a glimmer of a good sign for the both of us. Had she been in a panic then Elaine would have likely fired her attack anyway. This meant her wits appeared to still be in place for the moment. And unfortunately while sarcastic she was also right. While magic was limited in this current battle it sure beat going toe to toe, excuse me if I do not add 'to toe to toe to toe' in order to symbolize the spider's body at this point, with a creature more than five times my mass at least. If I were driving a bulldozer that would be one thing but standing here with a sword was another. "So then what is your plan?" She asked me and I was nearly speechless to reply.

"If we only had a wheelbarrow that would be something!" I said out loud since I had nothing better and movie lines were a good all purpose response in terrible situations.

"I have mentioned that you are picking up too many of Harry's annoying habits right?" Elaine replied. "I'd really hate to die with that being our last bit of eternal wisdom we get credited for."

"What do you mean?" I asked. "It's a classic!"

Perfect time for a convenient segue. "KNIGHT TAKES ROOK!" Okay it was hardly the most fearsome battle cry a troll has ever made in the heat of a battle but I was more than happy to hear it at that moment. But hearing it and then seeing a nine foot Lord Kline, his formerly pristine Savoy street suit now in tatters, appear from around the corner, take a running leap from the ground, spring off of the side of the building, and then land spread eagle on the back of the spider so that the troll's wickedly sharp, yet perfectly manicured, claws could dig into the spider's flesh I was willing to forgive him this.

The spider's legs buckled a bit from this new added half ton of weight and I was pleased to see that when added to my earlier sword wound that particular appendage snapped like a tree branch. Between that and the troll's attack the spider seemed to scream in horrible pain as it tried to shake the troll off of its back.

"I would have to say you look more like a rodeo cowboy than a knight my friend." Hisha called after his friend's gallant attack and skill at holding onto a rather bucking monster. He too had come around the corner of the building in the wake of the troll. The monk now carried a staff that he had not had before and swung it with so fast a sweep that he made the air crack which was nothing compared to the sound the spider's back right leg made when the seeming wooden stick made contact with hairy flesh. The spider's leg flapped around freely from the blow that had obviously completely shattered the arachnid's appendage.

The spider screamed again, I mean really screamed in this high pitched chattering wail that was now worse than fingernails on a chalkboard. It spun so fast to face Hisha that it nearly threw Lord Kline from off its back had the troll's claws not been embedded deeply in the spider's back.

"I guess then that would make your role as rodeo clown trying to keep the animal's attention while I do all the actual hard work?" Lord Kline replied raised his bloody and rather disgustingly ichor covered right claw before slamming it down into the spider's flesh again, this time nearly up to his elbow.

Hisha chose not to respond to this jibe at this time as the creature's eyes and attention focused almost solely upon him and did not like the mandibles being the part of the creature closest to him. So instead of directly attacking again with his staff and coming into range of the spider's weapons, the old monk snapped out a double spell much like the one I had cast underground that created an illusion of himself going to the left while a veil covered the real him going to the right. It is not that I could see through either of these spells at first. To me it had looked like he had cast some sort of spell and then the monk had stepped to a little to the left toward the spider's right and weakened side. But while the combination spells had fooled me it had obviously not done so for the spider any better than mine had for me since it could see right through such magic as I had already deduced.

The monk was not the only one of the combatants capable of one of these multilayered attacks. The spider showed a natural cunning that made it instinctually as wily and dangerous as the experienced monk's intelligence did for him. It also struck far too fast for something of that size to be able to do directly at Hisha, the real one not the illusion.

While the raksasha monk was unnaturally fast compared to most things and probably under normal situations would have been able to dodge the spider's attack, he probably also had centuries of experience relying upon his illusions to keep him safe; and made him less cautious in the long run. The idea that a mere spider, albeit a ten foot tall one, could see past the illusions probably never entered his mind; or at least not until it's tar like spit splashed against his body and began eating though his orange robes to the flesh below. This caused the monk's body to appear from its veiled state before slowing and becoming less coordinated. That unfortunate combination made him an even easier target for the mandibles to reach down and strike into his body in order to begin injecting its venom.

I screamed once again in rage at this event but my merely human voice was shouted down to where I could not even hear it myself because of something far more animalistic and rage inspired. Lord Kline watched all this occur as well noting his friend for centuries suddenly embedded on the end of the spider's prongs and that singular event made a millennia of cultured teaching evaporated in a mere instant. No longer was there a high browed gentleman in a troll's body who knew both world history and philosophy to match any university department in America. Now there was just a nine foot tall, green killing machine fully invested in berserker rage using its formidable claws to rip long strips of flesh from the spider's body.

Blood exploded from the spider's body in all directions staining the white snow various colors as the troll's anger played out on the creature's body. The spider spun around both left and right trying to dislodge the infuriated troll but nothing it could do was able to toss aside the berserk creature on its back. Finally, when it maneuvered its back to the position it desired the spider reared up in order to nearly flip itself over in order to crush the troll between the wall and its own massive body using such force that the brick wall and a significant portion of the three story building behind that wall collapsed on the bodies of both of the combatants.

Shattered electrical lines strobe lighted in the darkness and broken pipes running through the walls now sprayed water into the air adding more cold moisture to the Chicago winter's night. The spider rolled around to find its feet and rose back up to the six remaining uninjured legs before it turned to face the troll still lying partial buried below its body. The arachnid raised its head up to provide the killing blow that would finish off Lord Kline who could only raise a single arm to defend himself.

"Oh hell I guess that this is checkmate." The troll gasped through bloody lips seeing death coming for him but not willing to die as a monster but rather a creature of culture.

"Now Elaine! Do it Now!" I yelled and without hesitation she let go with the lightning spell she had been charging in the flail since finding her footing once again. The result was an impressive display that would rival many of Harry's attacks and it flew unerringly at the spider who only sensed it coming through its obvious pain at the very last moment and spun around it another attempt to catch it.

However, with the water now raining down and the air filled with mist the bolt of lightning transformed instead into a curtain of electricity, dispersing widely to prevent a focused catch by the spider but striking almost all the giant arachnid's body at almost the exact same time. While not as focused in power as the force of a full bolt, the voltage and quantity of electricity in the spell was enough to send the spider into spasms and stumbling away from the wreckage of the building where its still living and regenerating, and because it was a troll, opponent would be able to cause it even more injury. It staggered for a few steps as the spell finished coursing through its body and then surprisingly it made the decision to flee rather than continue the fight. I must admit that I was in no way disappointed to see it take this course.

Elaine collapsed to the ground as the adrenaline of battle left her body. Had it not been for the pile of snow behind her she was likely to have cracked her head open when she landed, but from the way her she continued to breathe deeply after landing on her back with her eyes closed I was comforted to know that she was merely magically exhausted. Realizing this I had no trouble leaving her just lying there and going to check on my brother.

I raced over to Daniel's body still collapsed in the snow where the spider had thrown him and rolled him over onto his back. His eyes were closed but he grimaced in pain as I moved him which believe it or not I took to be a good sign that at least he was still alive. His eyes flickered and then opened up to see me while I positioned his head lying in my lap.

"Molly?" He spoke though the effort obviously caused him additional pain. His eyes closed back as if the effort was too much to continue.

"Hold on brother we're gonna get you to a hospital." I said sliding my arms under his shoulders and knees and getting ready to carry him down the street if I had to and if nothing else presented itself first as a better option. I started to lift him up, thinking of drawing upon unknown sources of strength like the Hulk, and he groaned in pain.

"Molly don't!" He whispered and groaned. "We will never make it. I'm dying sis."

"NO!" I said making it to my knees and then getting one of my feet under myself as I got ready to stand.

"It is true Molly." Hisha spoke as he crawled directly toward me across the snow leaving a trail of blood to mark his passage. "You will never get him to the hospital in time to save his life with the poison coursing through him like that in me."

"I will not accept that!" I replied but suddenly I did not find the strength to stand back up on my feet. Despair had broken through my faith and drained from me, made me merely mortal once more.

"I'm sorry sis." Daniel opened his eyes once more and looked at me. "I guess I was not strong enough to last in your world."

"Don't argue with me little brother." I said as fiercely as I could manage. "I'm your older sister and I'm going to take care of you."

"Not this time…"

Hisha lying beside me vomited and spewed a black mass across the snow near his face before turning and lying with one eye cocked open to me. "There is still a chance for him however."

"How?" I asked.

He drew a deep breath in obvious pain of his own. "You must find your chi again." He said. "Find it and use it to heal your brother's body. I will guide you as best I can."

Of course! Elaine had done that to me. But I had never attempted anything like that before. "Can't you do it?" I asked knowing the old monk would be far better versed at this than I could ever be. I was not ready to risk my brother's life on magic I had never performed.

"I am too weak and my chi fights now to preserve my own life." Hisha responded. "I would offer my life for your brother's but this weak I could not even make the attempt."

I bit my lip in nervousness and looked at Elaine still passed out on the snow hoping she might be able but knowing at once that this was not an option. "You can do this Molly." Hisha spoke to me. "I have felt your spirit. Have faith in yourself child."

"Okay I will tr..." I paused. "I mean I will DO IT!" I said and closed my eyes hoping the conviction I placed in my voice lent strength to my upcoming actions.

Harry had stressed over and over the ability to clear one's mind, ignore outside distractions, and focus on the sole task at hand was a skill that every wizard absolutely had to master early on. A small part of me even recalled how he said such a skill could mean the difference between life and death one day. I figured he could not have known just how prophetic this statement was going to be one day when my brother lay dying. I only wished now I had studied even harder at this.

I closed my eyes and concentrated, following the line of power down within me from my head past my heart and to my well of chi lying at the base of my spine. I mentally stepped into it in my consciousness and felt its warm touch empowering me before racing to heal the remaining injuries my body had sustained over the last twenty four hours. It provided a sensation that made me feel warm and comfortable and loved.

From both outside my body but within my soul I heard Hisha's voice calling to me. "Place your hands upon your brother's stomach and heart." He commanded and I could feel my body move to comply even though I had not consciously commanded it.

As my hands came down on his body and made the connection I could suddenly feel everything Daniel felt. I sensed the blood from his spider inflicted shoulder wound still pumping though thankfully not dangerously fast, but still enough to be seeping into the clothing around the wound. I could also feel something black and vile spreading out from his wound and slowly inching its way toward his heart.

"That is the spider's poison." Hisha's spiritual guide voice explained and comforted me. "To counter it you must picture in your mind the individual cells of blood taking each grain of poison and carrying it until it can be deposited it in his stomach. Piece by piece, area by area you must cleanse his body and transport it all to his stomach."

I had no idea how to do what he said but I guess just by listening to his words and not fighting to hard to understand or question them I began to sense Daniel's body was doing what Hisha said was required. It started first in those areas closest to the heart and lungs and cleansed this free of all traces of toxin since it sensed those were the most immediately dangerous. Each blood cell carrying a small particle of the black poison away from the flesh it was trying to slowly kill and depositing it through the stomach lining and into his stomach itself where the natural acids present began to eat at this as well.

I was so in tune with this that I could sense each individual blood cell as it took its meandering course realizing somehow that it took three minutes for any cell it to make a full circuit of the body. But in that short one hundred and eighty seconds the hundreds of thousands of particles of venom had been cleansed away by more than a million cells of blood leaving the flesh throughout the body still damaged but free of the taint.

"Now spew it all forth." The words translated to action before I even understood that I was making my brother an unwitting bulimic in order to save him. The combination of spider venom and stomach acid regurgitated and burst free of Daniel's mouth thankfully only after he took the effort to turn his head to the side so not to shower the two of us with the remnants. The smell was horrible but I ignored it and turned my thoughts toward closing the wound to his body, stopping the loss of blood, and repairing the pierced flesh. I knew he was going to live but the feeling of healing someone was astounding, as powerful a force as when I called upon my magic so I did not want to surrender it when I knew I could do more.

"Not too much Molly." Hisha cautioned. "You will weaken yourself to heal your brother."

"Don't worry I feel…" A euphoric wave followed by one of the strongest sensations of exhaustion I ever felt made my hands slip and lose contact. "I feel…" I tried to catch myself but gravity was suddenly really strong right behind me and I found myself falling backwards to rest upon the snow. It turned out to be what I considered really comfortable and good idea at the present time.

Off in the distance I could hear sirens slowly getting louder. I guess the collapse of the building and all the battle cries had drawn the attention of some early morning college students. Was that a good thing? I could not really tell. Thankfully there were others better able to make that assessment so I left it up to them.

"I believe it would be wise to depart before the local gendarme arrives." Lord Kline's voice spoke in a slurred fashion, most likely as a result of his less than fully regenerated wounds but possibly because my own groggy state did not lend itself to hearing at the moment.

"I can't fit us all in my car." Elaine said quite clearly confirming my ears were working just fine.

"That is not a problem." Hisha replied also sounding tired. "Lord Kline and I will retreat back to Undertown if we can find a convenient entrance." He paused and I guessed he was probably looking around the campus. "We will be back in the same room you met us in if you require our services or we can assist in any other manner."

"There is a tunnel to the underground back where the wall fell." Elaine explained trying to take charge. "If you can clear away the rubble it should still be standing."

"I am uniquely suited for that particular type of task my lady." Lord Kline replied. "A few bricks will hardly be much effort. But are you sure you would not like me to help carry Molly to your car before we depart?"

"I got her." I heard Daniel say and felt myself grow lighter as he lifted me in his arms. "I need to get her home so she can rest."

"That is surely for the best." Hisha confirmed in his all knowing grandfatherly type voice. "Then we shall take our leave of you." I heard them walking away by the crunch of their heavy steps on the hard crusted snow. They had not faded completely before the wailing of sirens was drawing even closer and muffled them.

"Quickly." Daniel said and I felt the breeze made by movement on my bare cheek. "If you parked outside the physics building then you are only two parking lots over in that direction." He probably nodded or something but since Elaine did not voice a concern and I could hear her steps beside Daniel's I assumed they had agreed.

I floated along for a while somewhere between consciousness and unconsciousness until I felt the pair of them trying to maneuver me into the backseat of Elaine's car. Thank God for me she had a four door because they never would have been able to do it with a two door.

I laid sprawled on the backseat and felt Daniel toss his coat over the back of me as the car began to drive off. "Okay, so you're a wizard also right?" I could hear him ask Elaine.

"Yes." She said as the car turned suddenly to the left based upon my internal gyroscope.

"So what the hell happened to Molly's clothes?" My mind flashed and reminded me that the clothing I had been provided by Maeve lasted only until dawn. Damn it! Well there went any chance I had to tease my brother about wearing his leather thong.


	15. Chapter 15

**Semper Fidelis**

**_Chapter 15_**

I woke up from my chi exhaustion in my own bed, thankfully under the covers because I could tell no one had taken the time or effort to replace my lost fairy attire. I looked over at the clock hanging on the wall and tried to focus on what it was reading to know if I had time to sleep more before getting up to go relieve my mother at the hospital. Unfortunately with the heavy curtains drawn and only minimal light for my newly opened eyes that was not immediately possible. I also had vague sleep filled memories of other things I should be attending to but those were not clarifying as I laid there.

"Come on birdie, chirp and tell me what time it is." I spoke to the clock with my head resting on my pillows and my eyes closed trying to find the strength to move and check the clock.

"It's ten in the morning. You have been unconscious for three hours or so." Elaine said from somewhere off to the left side of my bed near my head making me a bit self conscious as I had not sensed her presence in the room. Having someone sitting over me while I sleep might be acceptable from my mother, or hell I might not even mind if it was Harry, but Elaine was not in that category of close acquaintances just yet.

"Um… so you just stayed sitting here in the darkness and watching over me?" I asked seeming a little taken aback by this awkward situation. For once I hoped this meant there was some sort of crisis she needed me to focus on and not that she suddenly sprouted an unusual sense of compassion for me. Having now faced death at least twice in the past twelve hours with Elaine by my side made me more accepting of her presence, but I was not ready to trust her. I had seen her set Harry up and knew what her inner fears could do at the wrong time or place.

"It was not just me." Elaine replied and I could tell she turned her head to look at someone by the way the sound of the words changed.

"I am here too Molly." Daniel's voice spoke from the same general patch of darkness in my room. My ability to read emotions was slowly coming back online and I could sense that he was feeling as off in the current situation as I was.

"Okay so there is a party happening in my bedroom and you both let me sleep right through it? What kind of friends are you?" Okay not my best response but hey I just woke up naked in my own room with two people I did not totally trust at the moment hanging over me. I remember dreams I had in high school that were just about this uncomfortable.

"I'm really serious about the whole taking on Harry's personality thing." Elaine said with only a little lightheartedness. "I might forgive the truly inappropriate sarcasm at the wrong time, but you nearly died with that little healing stunt of yours. Harry never understood caution and now you are every bit as reckless as he was…is."

The way she said that and her radiating emotions screamed that her anger with me was the result of something similar my master had done sometime in the past while in her presence. By her own acknowledgement Elaine was a survivor. She would help friends or those she worked for, but not to the point that her own life, or more importantly freedom, was placed in direct jeopardy. She followed the 'He who fights and runs away may live to fight another day' philosophy.

"Don't be so dramatic, I was only a bit exhausted by it." I replied trying to play down the seriousness of her comments both for Daniel's sake as well as my own. "No damage was done so let's get focused on something more important than another apprentice mistake okay?"

"No Molly." Elaine's tone was getting even more stern and disapproving. "It's one thing to risk your life because you are ignorant of the consequences. It's another to be purposely foolish and avoid the knowledge required to keep you alive in the future."

Well so much for my plan of downplaying what had happened. "Elaine I already was warned by Hisha about the dangers of using too much Chi." I admitted getting a little terse myself. "I saw no reason though in making a bigger thing out of it since it worked and we're all alive."

She ignored my response and instead suddenly projected a sense of satisfaction at making me irritated. But instead of being scolded by Elaine even more for my so called reckless behavior, and I really should point out to her how much _she_ sounds Harry at these moments, I turned and saw her head turn away from me and look instead at Daniel. "Are you satisfied now that everything I told you about your sister was correct?" She asked him as he lowered his head to not look at either of us.

"Yes." Was all he said.

We all sat there in the dark and silence for a minute or so. I had nothing to say since I realized I was not really part of the story as much as the subject of some unknown conversation. Elaine seemed to be waiting for Daniel to say more, by reading her she was hopeful that he would take some big step. But Elaine was not a sensitive and could not tell from the emotions of confusion, embarrassment, and guilt he was pouring out of him that there was no way that was happening anytime soon. And with Elaine staring at him and adding even more pressure it was becoming even less likely to happen at all as he build up walls of defenses. Once more I guess that it fell to me to get us out of a bad situation.

"You know I don't want to interrupt anything truly important but we have a Faerie war to prevent still and from what I can tell we are back to square one. We need to find out who is supplying firearms to some in the Courts and what their plan is before the next ice age begins." I said starting to throw my covers back and then remembering my current state of undress. "Umm...but first… could one of you hand me some of my clothes?"

"No!" Elaine said. "You need a few more hours rest at least or you will be no good to any of us." She said standing up but staring down at me as if to challenge her authority. Had I not been naked I probably would have gotten up in her face but the fates of fashion were against me at the moment. "I will go check in with some Summer Court agents I know of and see if there have been any changes we need to be aware of. You have my number for emergencies but you really need to take it easy. We will meet back at Harry's place tonight and decide what we should do next."

Daniel began to stand up as if to show Elaine the way out, or more likely as an excuse to get away from me but Elaine stopped him. "I think I can find my own way out." She said sternly yet with an underlying compassion. "I think it's time for you to find your way out don't you?" Daniel merely looked at her for a moment and then nodded before he sat back down and cupped his head in his hands.

I did not say a word as I listened as Elaine tromped down the steps and out the door. Daniel also said nothing at first even as she started her car and drove away to go check on events in the Nevernever. I could sense Daniel's confusion, hell I could probably have done so even without being a sensitive wizard, but that did not mean I knew how to help him through it. And the last thing I wanted to do was the wrong thing and have him hate me any more than he did already.

Daniel was not the type to want me to wrap him in a hug and say everything was going to be alright; especially when I did not know what the 'everything' he was dealing with was in order to know it would indeed be alright. I was also still lacking any clothes beyond the bedding I was lying under and was not looking to ask him again for clothes to point this out or use the sheets as a makeshift toga to get closer to him since I could sense that the majority of the awkwardness he felt was related to me.

Seconds and minutes passed and still nothing was said, well aloud at least. On the inside I could feel Daniel at war with himself, comparing things he knew or thought he knew against others and not being able to reconcile the two. It was like trying to put together pieces from two separate jigsaw puzzles and hoping to end with a coherent final picture that did not look like it had been painted by Picasso.

The good side for me, good being a relative term, and relative being an appropriate pun, was that I did not have to look at Daniel to feel what he was going through. Elaine was right in some aspects that my body was still tired so after the first minute of silence I settled back onto the pillow staring up toward the ceiling and closed my eyes. I did not sleep, doubted I could with the turmoil I was sensing, and I made sure to alternate my breathing and make occasional subtle sounds to let Daniel know I was not asleep but merely waiting for him to speak or to leave whichever course he decided to take.

While the silence lasted longer than I would have expected or hoped for, telling me the depth of our trouble if the fight in the parking lot had not done so adequately enough, he was still my father's son and so not likely to turn away from a challenge thrust upon him. As I sensed the tension reaching this tipping point I slowed my breathing even more so as to not distract him or in any other way influence what was to come.

"Why did you do it Molly?" Daniel finally asked at a point near to both rage and tears. Leave it to the male of the species to prove less than effective at communicating when emotions were involved for anything other than a sports team. I hoped he would follow that up with further explanation if I did not immediately respond, but instead he just tensed up as if I were choosing to ignore the question.

"I want to answer you Daniel but you will have to be a little more specific." I said as calmly as I could manage hoping not to provoke him or worse still, cause him to withdraw. "I do not want to assume I know what you are looking for."

He flared in anger at hearing my voice but after that initial reaction he calmed and seemed to understand that I was confused and not merely being obstinate or trying to provoke him into another fight. "Why did you save my life Molly?" Daniel clarified for me. "Why did you put your own life at risk to save mine?"

The question itself seemed absolutely ludicrous within my mind. He was my brother so that seemed to be as much of an answer as was required. I would gladly sacrifice myself to protect him if I had to. I would do the same for any of my siblings or even my mom or dad. Okay mom might take a little more considering based upon how much she had recently nagged on me but I'm still fairly sure I'd do that for her too.

But then I realized that while his question seemed ludicrous in my mind, in Daniel's it seemed a completely valid inquiry and the key to his entire confusion. He obviously had established some sort of image of me in his mind, what I was like and what motivated me, but now this act had been completely out of character compared to what he expected of me. People surprise us with such things all the time, but most of them are small inconsistencies and they cause only minor adjustments in our outlooks. What I had done for Daniel was, to him, diametrically opposed to what he expected of me. He had just learned the world was not actually flat.

In most cases we all can shrug off even these gross inconsistencies as perhaps part of some motivation of this other person we are not aware of. That was what Daniel was looking for me to provide him. What motivation did I have to saving his life?

But when you nearly sacrifice your own life for another as Elaine had obviously explained to him while I was unconscious there really can be no 'secret agenda' you are running since such an action has the potential to end this agenda by your sacrifice. Such an act, if the danger is known by the one taking action, is either altruistic or suicidal, there really is no third way of looking at things. Elaine had tricked me into admitting that I knew there were life and death dangers in using my chi so Daniel could not accept that I was ignorant of my actions. And while I may have enjoyed the whole goth look, no one would ever say I was suicidal. I obviously loved life too much. Which left Daniel with a jigsaw puzzle piece that simple would not fit in his internal image of the world around him. In his mind I could not be that altruistic.

How do we ever truly find forgiveness for our sins? When I accidentally released the phages from the Nevernever and inadvertently hurt Daniel, I had sinned against my family and friends even though I never intended this to happen. Because of this I accepted the Doom of Damocles as a suitable punishment from the White Council to make amends for using magic to sin. I had moved back in with my family and went back to school just as Harry demanded of me as his apprentice because I knew he meant this as a means to make it up to my family for the harm and sins I had caused to them. Hel…I mean heck I had even of my own idea confessed all these sins I had committed through magic and the hurt I had caused to Father Forthill who had listened politely then ordered me to perform a penance before absolving me of these sins in the eyes of the Church. But here I was still paying for this same mistake after all this time and effort.

"Daniel, I never wanted to hurt you or anyone else." I said to him but the words sounded like a bad Hollywood cliché and left a taste like ashes on my tongue. I could sense that there really would never be any words that I could say that would let me convey all my feelings on the subject to him in a way he might be able to understand. Hell I realized in that moment that even though I had tried to absolve my sins of these events with others, I had never truly forgiven myself for those events. So I did not know how I could ask him to forgive me when I did not know what types of tortures he had suffered because of me.

Then the thought struck me. It was a dangerous and rash idea that had a thousand reasons why it was not a good idea, but somehow a small part of me that sounded a lot like Hisha or Shiro told me it was the right thing to do. It was the right thing, but I would only do so if he agreed to this course of action on his own.

Daniel was obviously also less than pleased by my own awkward response but when I raised a hand and laid it gently on him arm he did not immediately rage at me or toss me onto a convenient Mercedes. "Daniel wait…" I said trying to find the words to explain the idea that I had thought of. "There is one way I can explain it all to you…everything you want to know…but you will have to agree to this yourself." I said aloud in stutters as I mentally kicked myself for sounding so unsure.

"What is it now Molly?" He asked a little harsher than I would have liked but I took it as a good sign he had not pulled away from my touch or even walked off without being willing to hear me out.

"Wizards have an ability called a soulgaze." I explained as I tried to remember just what Harry had said to me the first time he had explained all of this to me. Ironically I realized these events also occurred for me right after Harry had defeated the phages and fetches so that he could determine if he should put his own life on the line for me. "Have you ever heard of it?" I found myself asking.

"Yeah." He admitted looking away from me. "I checked out the books of magic you had in your room after you became an apprentice and read up about wizards because…" His voice trailed off and I knew the unfinished remainder of that statement was something like 'because my sister is one and I am afraid of what she could do to me.' He paused embarrassed to continue and I really did not want to hear him confirming my own internal fears.

"They why is irrelevant." I said before he found the nerve to continue. "The important part is that you know what I am talking about and what it can show you?"

"The book said when a wizard looks into your eyes they can see things about who the individual really is." Daniel repeated the texts I had on the subject almost word for word. I guess he really had been studying. Hey it was not algebra so I should not be too surprised that he took it seriously. "Supposedly there is no way to lie in a soulgaze, but the individual can also see right into the wizard's soul as well. Is that correct?" He asked me waiting for my confirmation or denial.

"Yep that is pretty much right." I replied. "The one important thing that the book did not mention is that whatever you see will be with you forever. You will never be able to forget it. Anytime you think about that person some part of you will remember what you saw. And the same goes for whatever they saw within you."

"That sounds dangerous." He said and this provided me an overwhelming feeling a déjà vous making part of me inside laugh at the irony of the situation. Daniel's words now were almost the same as my words had been with Harry before he looked into my soul. As if it were fate Harry had done so after I had loosened the phages upon this world and inadvertently injured Daniel. Now here I was trying to make things right and the same situation was playing out again as if the dialogue had already been written for me.

"Can be." I confirmed with a nod hearing Harry's voice in my head speaking these words to me and being oddly comforted by this closeness. "Though probably not for the reasons you'd think. When you see someone like that, Mol… I mean Daniel, there's no hiding the truth about who you are. You see it all, good and bad. No specifics, usually…" In truth in the two times I have done it I have gotten specifics and I suspected that my sensitive magic talents were responsible for this deviation from the norm. "…but you get a damn good idea about what kind of person they are. And it's for keeps. Once you've seen it, it stays in your head, fresh, period. And when you look at them, they get the same look at you." I finished.

"Molly, why are you speaking all weird with a deep voice?" Daniel asked a little on edge.

I laughed. "Sorry I was remembering when Harry told me this same thing. I guess I was remembering too well." I said. God maybe Elaine was right and I was taking on too much of Harry's personality.

"Well sop it because it creeps me out!" He said but had a hint of a smile and his nervousness went back to just regularly terrified of me not supercharged as it had been for that one moment.

I said nothing for the next few seconds as the meaning of my explanation sank in. Daniel did not know what to believe about me and now I was giving him the chance to pull back the covers with me, obviously figuratively until I got some clothes on, and decide with this new source of information if his sister was really a monster or not. The potential cost would be the same for him but I guessed unless he was leading a double life that I was unlikely to see Mephistopheles standing before me.

I quickly weighed the odds and while it was certainly a gamble for me I figured it was one that I held the advantage. I did not have a clue what those who had looked upon me before in such a soulgaze had actually seen so I had no way of knowing if these images would confirm Daniel's opinion of me or dispel it. But I was willing to take this chance based upon what had happened the only two times I had tried this. Harry had been the first to soulgaze me and he had concluded that I was worth putting his own life on the line for. Ishmael Rothstein had done so as well and asked me to take up the mantle of protecting a rather powerful artifact of his religion, one that I was not a part of in fact. I figured if two such caring men found something to trust in me then the odds were my brother would perhaps as well.

Daniel had lived in fear created by the phages and me for over a year now. I sensed whatever they had done to him had been partially responsible for the problems between us. The fact that I had never talked to him about these events had left this fear untended to grow in the dark recesses of his mind until it had taken him over almost completely. Now I was here offering him a chance to face that fear. I provided no promise that what he would see would rescue him from drowning but it was the only lifeline he could find. Thankfully he grabbed on with two hands.

"Okay let's do this." He said walking over and opening the curtains in my room to allow the full light of day and banish the darkness. I noted that a ray of sunlight passing through the clouds entered my window and seemed to land directly upon the cross hung above my headboard. If that was not as comforting a sign that I was doing the right thing I do not know what was. I guess Hisha was right. I merely needed to have faith that things would work out as God desired them to.

"Any chance you will let me get dressed first?" I asked feeling suddenly very vulnerable wrapped only in sheets and a comforter physically and about to expose my soul even more. It's not like I thought anything wicked about my brother but clothing for a woman helps provide a sense of armor against the world. I knew I had no such protections for my soul. I just hoped that whatever images of me Daniel saw were properly attired.

He looked at me for a moment considering the request as I appeared even more awkward and blushing under the full light of day. "Sure." He replied after a moment and tossed a pair of my sweats that I had lying on the chair in the corner over to me. Strangely enough I found the Winter Court icicle token lying between them as well though I had never worn it with these clothes and as it had been fastened to my Faerie attire it should have merely fallen off when they faded with the dawn. I wondered if this was some inherent magic that made it impossible for an emissary to misplace the token or have it stolen. I chalked that up as one of my questions to ask Maeve the next time our paths crossed.

I pulled the sweats under the covers and wriggled into them suddenly feeling much more confident than I had been. Who would have though pink cotton would have made such a fine suit of chainmail?

"By the way I like what you did with your hair." Daniel said seemingly out of the blue and catching me completely off guard. I noted the approving way her looked at me when I finally pushed the covers back down and spun my knees off the bed so I was able to sit like a semi-normal person. "I hated your goth looks but for some reason this particular black color and style seems to suit you just fine."

"Thanks." I replied. "It's something my new hair dresser seemed to think was appropriate at the moment." Note to guys, all girls love these types of compliments, even if they do come from their younger brothers.

Daniel took a seat on the chair the sweats had just occupied and looked over in my direction but did not meet my eyes just yet. I shifted so that I was sitting across from him while also keeping three feet of personal space between us. "Okay so what do we do? Is there an incantation or something that you need to perform?" Daniel asked looking at me as if I were an expert. I guess to him I was.

I laughed a bit though in a kind manner. "Normal people call them spells not incantations." I explained with gentle humor. "Only the High Council and other similar aged dinosaurs use words like 'Incantation' or 'Incantus' because they think 'spell' is too New Age and commoner."

"Okay Morgana Le Fey is there a _spell_ that we need to cast?" Daniel asked thankfully taking no offense or being annoyed by my correction.

"No you simply have to look into my eyes." I said taking a deep breath and preparing for what was to come. He did not even hesitate though and jumped in with both feet. His eyes looked directly into mine and the soulgaze between us began.

I realized it had started because instantly I was no longer standing in my room but was instead lying on the bed in Daniel's. I knew this because his walls are covered in posters of Chicago's finest; the Cubs, the Bulls, and 'da Bears.' I used to kid him that that with so many animals he was either living in a zoo which was perfect for an ape like him, or his room was a convenient place to remake the Wizard of Oz but with Cubs and Bulls and Bears oh my! Neither of these jokes endeared my brother any closer to me. I guess he is not much of a culture buff.

_I was lying in bed staring up at the ceiling wearing my pajama pants and a t-shirt when I heard the door open downstairs. I knew Mom and the other kids were already in bed and dad had left on another of his God commanded missions so that meant Molly had come home which made me happy. Last month she and mom had fought so badly that Molly had left in a huff, only returning a day or two ago when that Harry Dresden, a friend of my dad's, had brought her home to stay once more. Of course I realized when I heard no voice to confirm my assumption, on the other hand if it was not Molly then there was an intruder and it fell to me to protect the home while my dad was away._

It was odd to relive events from Daniel's point of view. I also noted that when he had thought of me running away part of him was angry at me for hurting my family and especially scaring my mom, but part of him was also really afraid for me; and even for himself - that he would never see me again. That new reflection of these events made me now feel kind of guilty for not taking the rest of my family's feelings into account. It also made Daniel thankful to Harry for bringing me home, though I could feel that the powers Harry had available to him frightened Daniel, especially since our dad had been hurt while in his company more than once.

_I grabbed the autographed baseball bat my dad had gotten signed for me last year because it was the most convenient weapon available to me and began to sneak down the stairs to surprise whoever had come in. The large wooded bat would make a fine deterrent. Thankfully by the middle of the stairs I heard Molly singing off key as she usually did and I relaxed and was happy to know she was safe at home with us even if she couldn't carry a tune if it had a handle._

Hey! Remind me to advise Daniel when this is all over that he needs to get his ears checked out. I do not sing as poorly as he remembers so it has to be a problem with his hearing or his memory. I bet getting hit so many times in his football helmet has cause some sort of hearing related damage.

"_Hey Molly glad to see you are home again sis." I said as I put the bat down by the steps and walked into the living room to see her…or myself… in my current attire and tried not to laugh at the colors of her hair._

I forgot this was my yin and yang phase where I had dyed my hair partly bright bubblegum pink and the other half sky blue to symbolize the divine feminine and divine masculine. Okay don't ask. I had just seen the Da Vinci Code and this was sort of my tribute to the film and its concepts. Looking back now I guess I could have just bought the movie poster or something and saved the effort.

"_Hey Daniel, what are you still doing awake?" I (Molly) asked and seemed to be surprised that I (Daniel) was awake at this hour even though it was really not all that late._

Yeah this was not going to be weird to remember one side of these events while I lived through the other.

"_I was just going to sleep when I heard you come in and thought I'd come down and…" KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK someone tapped heavily upon our front door and we both turned to look at it with wonder of who could possibly be at our door at this odd hour._

Of course having lived all of this I knew exactly what was coming and I tried to will myself (Daniel) to tell me (Molly) not to go to the door. But I was trapped in the actual memory of the event and there was no way to change the past or what was about to happen.

"_I got it bro." Molly said to me because she was now closer to the door and still dressed, by comparison to me only wearing my pajama bottoms and white, well mostly white, T-shirt. God did I ever hear of a shower or changing my shirt after football practice? I watched me walk to the door and open it only part way to look out at who was on out step. My (Molly's) body suddenly tensed and I could hear her raise her voice as if she was arguing._

What I remembered was I went to the door and opened it without looking and only saying "Who the heck knocks on our door this late at night?" I had expected it was one of mine or Daniel's friends. But then my eyes came around the edge of the heavy oak door to see the same three horror movie villains that had haunted Splattercon and killed or injured dozens of attendeesstanding there looking at me with malice in their eyes. They were Hammerhand, Scarecrow, and the Reaper all standing right outside my door and I felt cold in the pit of my stomach, and the subtle charge in the air that I knew came from a spell giving been cast.

"Trick or Treat little witch." Scarecrow had taunted me. "It's time to pay the Reaper for the harm you have caused!" The symbol of death incarnate standing behind the Scarecrow raised his wickedly curved blade and began to jab it toward me.

I screamed and slammed the door, my mind telling me that according to my studies these beings could not cross the threshold of our house because of the love and power our family had filled our home with. We would be safe behind the door from these creatures of nightmare as long as we did not invite them in. I ran back into the living room to tell Daniel not to open the door and that he should go upstairs and warn the others also but I never got the words out of my mouth.

_I saw Molly scream and slam the door to our home holding it in place for a moment as if she expected whoever was outside to try breaking it down. But after a second or two when no such attempt was made she turned and ran into the living room where I was standing. Fear shown in her eyes but there was also a powerful determination there that I had never seen her wear before. She opened her mouth to speak but before she could behind her the door was not forced inward as we expected but rather it was ripped right from the hinges pulling the very frame with it from the walls around it. In Daniel's memories I even noted the three inch decking screws my father had used to secure the frame to the house were torn free and sticking wickedly out like some dangerous weapon. I did not worry about them for long though because Scarecrow took the door he had pulled free and tossed it into the yard behind them before stepping right into the hallway of our home. Behind him came Hammerhand and the Reaper._

NO! That is not possible! That is not possible! I kept thinking these words to myself. They can't cross a threshold without being invited. That was the rules for creatures of the Nevernever or they sacrificed their power and left it on the other side of the door. But I could sense that they had not left their power. They were filled with it still, along with their natural malice and evil intentions. That meant they had either been summoned here, which no one in this home would have done or known how to do, or they were sent here by someone else with a means to get them past the threshold that I had never heard of. Since only the latter made sense I had to assume they had come for me like they had gone after my friends. But as they turned into the room they stopped and all three looked up the stairs where my other younger brothers and sisters were sleeping. Torturing such innocence would be a feast to these types of beings as I had already observed.

"_Daniel we have to distract them from going upstairs!" Molly yelled to me as she charged Hammerhand and Scarecrow who were already on the steps. I was a step behind her in reacting but I realized I had left my bat lying next to the steps and it was now out of reach. Instead I grabbed the black iron poker that hung next to the fireplace in the living room. I figured if some costumed jerks were going to break into our house I was going to show them what a mistake they had made._

My God Daniel had no idea what he was facing. He thought he could scare these beings with a determined show of force or a few hefty blows of the poker. He had no concept that these were creatures that lived off of fear, violence, and weakness and that what he was doing would actually feed them and make them even stronger. Of course I did not know that particular detail either at the moment either. I only remembered I had to yell a warning upstairs to my mom to get the other kids into the panic room dad had built for us if evil ever came to call.

_Molly yelled to mom to get everyone into the panic room and that caused the three intruders to stop and look at her once more with evil intentions written fully in their eyes. My sister was a beautiful girl and I did not like the way they were looking at her as if she were a meal. Their delay to look at her though also provided me enough time to get into poker range and I swung my makeshift weapon with all my might clocking the Scarecrow, the one standing closest to Molly, in his straw covered head and knocking him to the ground. I felt pride in this surprise attack and turned to backhand Hammerhand with a blow to his raised arm that echoed like it cracked bone and made him nearly tumble down the steps as well._

I have to give it to Daniel, unlike me he did not panic and at least put up some kind of a fight that gave these creatures pause. Other than screaming a few warnings I had done nothing effective to keep these three away from my family or myself. I also knew Daniel could not understand what I knew now that by picking up the iron poker he had armed himself with one such weapon that could actually do harm to these creatures.

_I was cocking my hand back to swing the next blow at the Reaper when the cloaked skull spun and slashed at me with that curved knife of his cutting across my arm and making me drop my makeshift club at my feet. I wanted to make a grab for it but he stepped forward toward me making me back away from his knife. When I prepared to flee he reached out and took hold of my T-shirt in his hand and lifted me from the ground and he brought his knife back up slowly to show me before he killed me. I saw my blood already staining the blade from my arm wound and knew I was about to die._

"Leave him alone!" I screaming having somehow in the confusion wrapped my hand around the baseball bat Daniel had brought downstairs and swung with all my might at the arm that held my brother. The wood made contact with the arm and something cracked loudly but since the bat was only wood rather than iron or steel it had no real effect on the Reaper shaped nightmare. Well that is not quite completely true. The blow had gotten the phage's attention and seeing me holding a weapon that we both realized in that instant was useless against it and therefore sensing my new fear and frustration he tossed Daniel aside as if my brother no longer mattered.

_I closed my eyes as I waited for the blow, but instead of death I heard a crack and felt the arm that was holding me off the ground shudder in response. The next thing I felt was myself falling over the coffee table in the living room and crashing into the television, knocking it from the stand as I fell the other way. I felt my head hit the floor, quite hard in fact, and suddenly saw stars exploding in my behind my eyes. I tried to open my eyes and focus to see if any of the three intruders were coming after me but they were not. Scarecrow had regained his feet and grabbed my sister from behind. She fought him as best she could but then the Reaper grabbed hold of her as well. Together the two carried her screaming out the door leaving only Hammerhand behind who was staring right at me._

When Reaper tossed Daniel aside I had thought to make a lunge for the poker my brother had dropped but the way he twirled the knife to hold my attention and placed it between me and my treasure told me that if I made a move for the iron artifact he was going to slice me open. I hoped to distract him until I could make a grab for it. What I had not counted on was that what he was actually doing was trying to keep me distracted from other thing taking place as well.

"We have orders not to kill you little witch." The Reaper taunted me. "Someone very powerful wants their chance to take a part of you first. But our master said nothing about what to do with your family. They will make a very fine meal for us don't you think?" If you have never heard the Grim Reaper laugh then count yourself lucky. It's not a sound I ever care to hear again. Thankfully Daniel was too stunned by his knock on the head to have heard it for himself as he tried to get back into the fight.

I made a desperate lunge for the poker, figuring if the Reaper had orders not to kill me then he would not be able to actually stop me. Unfortunately I had not counted on Scarecrow having gotten back to his feet from Daniel's first blow and maneuvering behind me to grab me around the waist just as I began my dive thereby lifting me off my feet. Had I been studying with Murphy at the time I might have known to slam both my heels into his kneecaps and show him ways legs are not meant to be bent but instead I merely kicked and screamed in panic like a typical horror film female victim. Then the Reaper grabbed hold of my legs and the two pinned me in place between them where I could not struggle free of their hold.

"Kill the rest of her family!" Reaper said to Hammerhand as he and Scarecrow carried me off through the shattered doorway and into the night. I remembered screaming "NO!" at the top of my lungs, fearing that my family would pay a more horrible price than whatever the two intended for me.

_I found my way to my feet as Hammerhand approached me raising his twin namesakes as if preparing to pound me flat. I tried to dodge around the room and keep furniture between us but he shattered or overturned each piece with a single blow from his hands as he came to them. Pretty soon I had nowhere left to run and hide so I charged directly at him instead._

_One of the advantages of being the son of a Knight of the Cross is that dad had taught me how to fight. Not with a sword, but just the proper way to fight with my hands if such events were ever called for. He had explained to me that such times are incredibly rare and that I should always try and talk my way out of these potential conflicts first but I figured this was one of those rare exceptions to the rules where violence was okay._

_I waded in and struck a few quick jabs to Hammerhand's face. I knew no one can ignore those types of shots and while they may not put your opponent down, each one certainly got his attention and made the nightmare before me a little more cautious. Unfortunately I had not counted on my opponent's skin feeling like course sandpaper every time I struck. After my fifth or sixth blow I felt the pain from the ripped skin on my knuckles as well as the warm trickle of blood on my fingers and his face. I paused to look at my hands quickly to assess the damage, a rather stupid thing to do I immediately realized when Hammerhand landed his first blow, thankfully only a glancing one, across my chest. The rough edge of his hammer sliced open my shirt and the skin beneath it making the resulting wound burn like fire._

_I tried to cover up from his next attacks but he was too quick and the pain had stunned me. He rained a few light blows against my body and then my face that left me staggering. I knew any of them could have been killing blows had he wanted them to be but he was instead merely torturing me like a cat with a mouse. He also began to taunt me._

"_How does it feel to know you failed little man?" Hammerhand's voice was just as sandpaper rough on the ears as his skin had been. "Maybe I will let you live to hear the screams of your brothers and sisters as I break each of their bones as I kill them slowly as well. Then when your father returns you can tell him how you failed when he left you in charge."_

_I ducked under the next blow and staggered for the front door while he followed right behind me. I figured this was good for as long as he followed me he could not hurt the others. And if he killed me then I would not have to explain to dad how I had failed him and failed Molly._

How could he think he had failed me? He had just battled these things with everything he had and still done nothing to actually harm them. They were beyond his ability to injure but still he thought he had somehow failed me. This now became the most difficult soulgaze I had ever experienced for I could see too much.

_I somehow stayed on my feet and raced around to the back of our house where the tree house my dad had made for us sat up high in an oak tree. Some part of my mind quickly rationalized that a guy with hammers for hands could not possibly climb the ladder steps my father had nailed into the trunk so I would be safe. A larger part though thought of this place as my last sanctuary; a place I often retreated to in order to flee from the rest of the world. I only hoped it lived up to this dream._

_I climbed up and hid in the darkest corner as far from the trap door as I could. Dad had never allowed us to put a lock on that door so I just sat in the corner staring at the opening and hoping I was safe. And then I saw the two hammers reach up through the doorway and pull the rest of Hammerhand up into the room with me._

"_Your sister brought this down upon you and your family you know." He said mockingly while he loomed over me slapping his hammers together and making sparks in the darkness to keep my attention. "She went looking for magic and now all that power she desired is coming back to prey upon those closest to her. That was the price she was willing to pay to gain her power. How do you feel about that? She offered all of your lives and souls up to our master for a chance to cast spells." He laughed at me._

"_That is not true!" I swore with conviction I did not know I had. I loved my sister and what this guy was saying had to be wrong._

"_But it is true." He laughed some more. "Why do you think we did not kill her when we had the chance? Why has she lived unharmed through all the deaths at the convention when so many others around her, other friends of hers even, have not? They were still more of the price she was willing to pay for her magic."_

_I (Daniel) had heard our mother talking both to Harry Dresden and to the police about things that had happened at Splattercon. I had heard her mention the names of people I knew were friends of Molly's. But I did not want to believe this was true._

"_Oh but it is." Hammerhand spoke reading my mind. "She got the Devil's attention by offering her body to him. He enjoyed that immensely to be sure but when that had not been enough for the bargain, because my lord has rather particular tastes in that area that your sister was not experienced enough to fulfill, she traded all your lives, friends and family, for the power she craved. We were sent here to fulfill the terms of the bargain but the Devil said I could leave one of you alive if I told you the truth of his deal. He thinks it will be fun to see if you kill your sister in revenge for your family, or she kills you because she can't afford to let you live with her secret."_

_I wanted to deny the story but the words sounded far too believable. Molly had never shown any skill at magic but over the last few months I had noted that she had began collecting and hiding books on the subject in her room. She had also always been intrigued by dad's friend Mr. Dresden. Had she somehow found a spell to make all this possible?_

"_I will leave you here now boy to serve as my witness as my lord commanded me to do." He taunted as he began to climb back down the ladder. "You will know the truth of my words when your sister returns home in one piece…unlike the rest of your family. Then perhaps we will see what kind of man you are as well." His laughter haunted my shaking and badly battered body alone in the dark._

My God no wonder Daniel had never looked at me the same after that night. My survival had merely been more evidence against me that what he had been told was correct. The fact that the rest of my family had survived was because God protected them in the panic room. But I had no such protections at my disposal. Therefore the only way I could have survived is if I had made some sort of deal to protect myself just as he had been told.

And when I did return I was suddenly Harry's apprentice. My mother's 'gift' was never discussed among the family only my own which I had demonstrated myself to Daniel at various times. Since this was not genetic, it must have come from some other source since Daniel did not have these powers either. And the fact that I had never spoken to him about these events, that I had avoided him to some extent in the next few weeks because of my guilt over his injuries, merely made the lies Hammerhand had told that much more believable in the end.

We stepped out of the soulgaze to look upon one another as brother and sister rather than enemies for the first real time since that night more than a year ago.

"Daniel.."

"Molly.."

"I'm so sorry." We said in unison and while the unintended harmony made us both smile we could not stop shedding tears for each other as well.

"I did not know Daniel." I said but felt it was a hollow excuse. "I never meant for you to be harmed."

"No Molly it was me who was wrong." Daniel said. "I doubted you when I should have known you better. I've seen all you have done for others and I can't believe that I could have believe what that creature said about you. Can you ever forgive me?"

"Of course little brother." I said. "As long as you try to forgive me as well." I bargained.

As the tears rolled out of both of our eyes Daniel wiped his away. "You need to know something else." He said trying to build up a tone of seriousness. "You were right."

"Of course I was. I'm your older sister." I said trying to provoke a laugh as he rolled his eyes at me. "But which little detail about you am I right about this time?" I asked for clarification.

"Not about me." He said. "Well not exactly about me though I am involved. You were right about Master Highpelt. He is building firearms for the Faerie Courts." He said setting me back on my heels figuratively since I was still sitting on my bed.

"No we looked around." I said. "The only weapons he was building were armor kits for the military. Otherwise he had you guys making horseshoes and pipe." I said.

"Yeah that is what it looked like to someone from the outside." Daniel agreed. "But the horseshoes all had to be lined on the top with thick rubber so no metal touched the skin of whatever they were going to be attached to. I called Jenny Mercer and asked her about this since she rides equestrian and she told me that they would never do that for a regular horse because it would make the shoe pop off." He explained.

"But if it were temporary for a Faerie creature like a centaur or some other hoofed creature then you would have a pretty dangerous short term weapon uniquely suited to battling other Fae." I reasoned.

"And the pipes you saw just all happen to me just the right diameter to hold a twelve gauge shotgun shell." Daniel explained further.

"He is making guns?" I asked. "Why not make revolvers or something less prone to malfunction?"

"Because he is not making guns, he is making bang sticks." Daniel replied with a look of concern.

"What the heck is a bang stick?" I said hoping he would not respond with 'a stick that goes bang' as that would hardly bring any further illumination to my confusion.

"It's what scuba divers use to kill sharks that get too close." Daniel explained. The shotgun shell sits in a piece of pipe with a slightly large gauge of piece around it that has a cap and a convenient pin aligned with the firing pin of the shell. If a shark comes too close to a diver they jab the animal and the smaller pipe slides into the larger causing the shell to strike the pin and firing the round into the animal at point blank. They are very basic to build and very lethal when used."

"So they are one shot weapons?" I asked now seeing how these would be a game changer in a Faerie war. The fact they had only one moving part made them unlikely to fail around magic as well.

"Not necessarily." Daniel replied. "Any size cartridge could have been used but Master Highpelt chose shotgun because the cases are made out of copper and plastic while the balls inside are made out of steel. They can be opened and reloaded in less than thirty seconds."

Oh this was bad…really, really bad. "Who is he making them for did he say?" I asked because this was the most vital piece of information I needed. It stood to reason whoever was making the purchase was planning to start the war and was therefore who Elaine and I needed to expose.

"I don't know." Daniel said.

"Well then I guess I'm going to call Karrin Murphy and give her a tip on where to find these weapons." I said hoping this would put an end to this scheme. If they were confiscated then there could be no war.

"You're too late." Daniel replied. "The shipment was due to go out this morning. I do not know where he takes them but that is partly why we had to go out the north gate."

Damn I really needed to know this and Daniel was the only one who I knew who could provide that answer. Except someone in the Summer Court had to have a pretty good idea since they had intercepted one of the shipments and its courier. That meant I had to get back in touch with Elaine right away since she was the Summer Court Emissary.

I got out of bed as Daniel watched me. "I have to go find Elaine. I need to get this information to the Faerie Queens in order to prevent a war. Thank you Daniel you may have just saved millions of lives."

"I'm going with you Molly." Daniel said with a look of determination as he stood up as well.

"That is out of the question." I replied. "I'm not sure I will make it back and I need you to tell Harry what happened and everything you know in case Elaine and I fail."

"Then you need to write him a note." He said with a new sense of righteous resolve. "Something from the Nevernever screwed with my head and made me doubt you. If I am ever going to get past my fears your friend Elaine said I had to face them and put them behind me. That means I need to face these things right at your side and show them, and myself, that I have faith in you sis."

Damn that word was back haunting me again. "Alright pack a bag and be ready for trouble." I said giving in to him.

_***Author's note: In my first story Roc and Storm rightly pointed out that I overplayed the soulgaze compared to what Harry sees in the real books. I admit they are correct but offer up two excuses. 1) Molly is a sensitive wizard so magic works differently when it comes to feelings. 2) Author's license… soulgaze is just a really cool way to explain part of a story without a long conversation back and forth. I hope you accept this slight twist on canon.***_


	16. Chapter 16

**Semper Fidelis**

**_Chapter 16_**

Two immediate problems reared themselves as I thought over what I needed to do next. The first was that I had no way to contact Elaine since cell phones had a shelf life of mere hours when held by a wizard or even when just within ten feet of their presence for the newest models. I once killed an I-Phone of a rather annoying driver in front of me just by thinking how much I hated people who drive and talked on the phone at the same time. I got a sick pleasure out of seeing him throwing the literally flaming piece of plastic and electronics out his window. Course that little trip down memory lane would not help me find Elaine any faster.

I knew the hotel where she said she was staying but her last words upon leaving had been she was going to try to make contact with some Summer Court agents and see how events in the Nevernever were progressing. I assumed knowing where the current Chicago hangout for Summer's agents was one of those things she probably talked to her friend the centaur about while we here heading to the court. I could leave a message at her hotel, but unless she stopped by to change clothes it was likely just a waste of time.

What I really needed was a way to get into contact with Maeve, pass along what I had learned, and question her a bit more based on these new developments. Unfortunately the most reliable way to do this required travelling to the Winter Court. But without Elaine to open a portal there was no reliable and safe way for me to get there that I knew of.

Lord Kline had said that the emissary token I carried likely had the power to open gates as well, but where magic is concerned just having the power and knowing the correct way to do so not to kill yourself or others are two very different things entirely. Just because I understood the concept of juggling did not mean I was willing to try it with high explosives. That would be a much quicker and cleaner death than opening a portal the wrong way or to the wrong place. If I opened the gate incorrectly some really nasty things could also come through and now having relived the results of my last mistake like that I had no intention of attempting that again.

The second and somewhat lesser problem I faced is that I found that Mom had left me a note on the refrigerator asking me to go to the grocery store to pick up dinner supplies for the family before I went to the hospital. Sure on the grand scheme of things of living day to day under the White Council's Doom, facing a potential life ending war in the Nevernever, and now prossibly having a revenge seeking dragon pissed off at me for carrying one of his stolen treasures, the thought of having my mom angry that I did not pick up groceries probably would only rate as high as fourth on my list of current dangers. Then again having firsthand experience of my mother's wrath not getting the groceries might actually rank as third on the list depending upon the size, age, and general temperament of the dragon in question.

Without means to get to the Nevernever or Elaine I really had nothing better to do except spin this new information that Daniel had provided around in my head and try to see what I what pieces of the puzzle were still missing. That task I could accomplish almost anywhere and with the potential repercussion I could certainly do it while also buying all the makings for my mother's famous meatloaf.

I decided to stick with my sweats though I took the time to add appropriate undergarments and a T-shirt to the ensemble. When I washed up in the sink I also noticed that my hair was still in salon perfect order even though I had fought two battles and slept in it since my appointment. If this was Faerie magic that I could package I would make millions!

"At what time are you meeting Elaine over at Harry's apartment?" Daniel asked me as he came down the stairs and into the kitchen wearing a patchwork ensemble of military fatigues and carpenter tools that made him look like some sort of odd crossbreed between G I Joe and Bob the Builder. Then I caught the glint of chainmail under his camouflage shirt from one of my father's suits no doubt and amended my earlier opinion to add King Arthur to the mix as well; the Monty Python rendition of course not the cool Sean Connery.

"We have met usually after seven at night." I answered and turned away so not to tell him with my barely hidden smile that he looked a little ridiculous. First it was the red Speedo and now this get up. I swear his wardrobe was purposely taunting me. Daniel and I had just begun to makeup at this point and I figured a fashion critique from me would not help that process in any way. But even still I swear though that his armor almost sounded like little bells tinkling when he walked.

"Alright I will meet you at his place tonight at seven." He said and flipped an empty gym bag over his shoulder as he headed for the door without any further explanation which set my alarms off because this is the same sort of thing I do when I'm trying to do something harry considers foolish.

"You are not going back to Highpelt's are you?" I asked thinking this to be a terrible idea so likely the one my brother was considering since we shared the same blood.

"No." He replied. "But I am going to pick up some more supplies that I might need if we have to fight something like that spider again. Not all of us have magic at our disposal so I figure that I better have a backup plan of my own in case talking does not solve everything."

I had to admit that this made a lot of sense. The trouble was though that Daniel had little or no knowledge or experience upon which to base these decisions. Some things he might consider would actually be worse than having nothing at all. "Daniel, guns are an automatic death sentence in the Nevernever." I explained as he reached the front door. "The last guy, well actually he was a satyr, they found carrying some of your master's weapons was tortured and then put to death right before my eyes. Make sure you do not bring anything like that."

"I've never been a real fan of guns Molly." Daniel said very seriously as he turned to look at me. "Dad never really believed in having them since he carried a sword so I never really learned how to shoot. I am thinking of things far more practical and suited to my own unique talents." He said with that devious smile that all teenage Carpenter kids get when they know they are thinking of things that our mother would probably frown upon.

A thought hit me as he turned back to the door. "Hey Daniel, if you are going out shopping anyway how about doing me a favor?" I asked with a smile to match his.

"What do you need?" He asked with the same sense of hesitance that I likely showed when he mentioned that he had talents.

I told him and explained my reasoning and to his credit his eyes only raised a little at my request once I explained everything his involvement would entail. "Alright I will do it." He agreed. "Just make sure you and Elaine do not leave before I get there." He waited until I promised, literally promised out loud to him, and then he took off just as Jenny Mercer's car pulled into the driveway. I would love to hear how he was going to explain to her the way he was dressed and where he had to go thanks to me. Unfortunately I had grocery shopping to do first.

Mom had left me money in an envelope, she was not one willing to accept charity even from her daughter, along with a shopping list as long as my forearm of what she needed from the store. While the note had said I was going to get food for her meatloaf dinner, I assumed she figured that since I would be there already anyway there was no point in her going this weekend if I got it all done today. To that end, each item my mother desired, or demanded, was listed in the order I would find it going up and down the various aisles of the same grocery store my family had been shopping at since I was born. Along with the name of each item came a description of what size and the quantity of each product I was to purchase.

Once long ago in my rebellious teenage years, I had defied my mother's listed wishes and bought the largest sized box of Lucky Charms instead of two of the medium sized ones as she had ordered. You would have thought this action to be as blasphemous as if I had changed the wording in the family Bible. Not only upon returning home did I have to sit through an economics lecture about how the mid-sized boxes were more economical per ounce than the large boxes but after that she even demonstrated to me with weights and scales how the toy I had wanted in the large box had reduced the actual quantity of cereal within by the toy's net weight.

And if you don't think this is enough torture for a teen to endure for so meager a crime consider also that she ended our conversation with a sentence of docking my weekly allowance by the difference in price that my 'unauthorized change' of her list had cost our family. I can only thank providence that I had decided against buying the also unofficially sanctioned Snickers bar I had my eye upon as I rang up that day's groceries.

I started in the fresh fruits and vegetables section since that is where my mother's list told me to begin and I was not going to live through another speech by forgetting anything. It would not surprise me that my mother might also have access to the grocery store's security camera footage just to see if her eldest daughter followed her instructions.

I was onto the ninth item on the list, gathering two packages of carrots from my younger siblings school snacks, the full sized of course because they were cheaper than buying the cute and easily consumed baby carrots mind you, when I noticed a nearby stand holding bags of packaged pumpkin seeds sitting near the salad fixings. I was not a particular fan of this food as far as snacks go because they were totally lacking in chocolate or sugar. Thankfully they only seemed to sell from October to December as I always assumed it was some last ditch way to make a buck by the byproducts of the lucrative jack o' lantern business. I admit they tasted better than sunflower seeds by a long shot but no replacement for a good cheeseburger as far as I was concerned. But now seeing them again I recalled that these seeds had been one of the items at the feast the Summer Knight and Lady had dined upon before they had been struck down. There was something about that meal that still left me thinking I was missing something important.

I put the shopping cart of my mom's foods off to the side and grabbed a smaller basket. I had time to spare so I began to wander throughout the store collecting the items I remembered from the Faerie Court dinner so I could take another look and try to figure out what I had missed that was still annoying me. Thankfully, for the most part the Summer Court tended to eat all natural foods so this collecting only took a few minutes and very little walking from where I was already standing.

I found the parsley, broccoli, potatoes, cantaloupe, and strawberries all within a ten foot radius of the pumpkin seeds. Black molasses required me to go over to the baking aisle where I found it in a syrup-like jar. Pâté, however was another story being made primarily from goose liver. I went to the grocery store's deli and asked after it and was met in response with looks of skepticism. I guess the family Piggly Wiggly did not get much call for Pâté here in this neighborhood of Chicago.

"Might I suggest a fine, old world, German butcher I know of around the corner Ms. Carpenter?" An immediately familiar and obviously happy voice behind me spoke to get my attention. I turned around and saw my old history teacher Mr. Goldman standing behind me with a warm welcoming smile on his face. "Pâté is a rather refined taste for the original Chicago immigrants who came mostly from Germany, Poland, and Scandinavia. What you are seeking is primarily a Parisian dish made first by French chef Jean-Joseph Clause to be consumed with rather tasteless crackers and lukewarm Perrier. Unfortunately its supposed refined taste allowed it to spread to the noble families throughout Holland, Germany, Russia, and even my own Habsburgs of the Austro-Hungarian dynasty."

Mr. Goldman was literally one of those individuals who could make a history lesson out of the back of a cereal box. I'm not kidding. I've seen him do it. He once saw a children's maze on the back of a snack box of Cheerios that one of the students brought into class and changed his lesson for the day to lecture for thirty minute on how the great hedge maze of the palace of Louis the XIV came into existence and how it was used by senior members of the royal court to deny or delay those wishing an audience with the King.

Most students dreaded his classes because Mr. Goldman was one of those teachers who only gave essay tests rather than multiple choice and no one in the history of the school had ever got full credit for any question he asked. You could write a full doctoral thesis on a subject as simple as who was President in the Civil War and yet there was always some small detail that Mr. Goldman provided from memory that the student had overlooked. Getting a C in his class was equal to an A in any other. In my classes with him I took this as a challenge and fought for the whole semester to get an A- as my final grade. That grade had ranked in the top three that he had given in any of his classes that school year.

"So obviously you are familiar with Pâté and its history?" I asked and stepped out of line to talk to my teacher and thereby allow the next person a chance to get their own deli order.

"Indeed." He replied with a simple nod. "But as far as the taste goes I will admit it is hardly on my gastro favorites list."

"Really?" I asked. "I would have thought a food with such a noble tradition would be held in high esteem by a man who enjoyed and knew so much about the history of Europe and its various royal families."

"I do normally look upon thing in that light but alas Pâté is a bit of an exception to my rules." He said. "The nuns at the orphanage forced a weekly meal of liver and onions on me as a child saying it would make me grow up to be tall and strong. I loved the smell but hated the taste. However when such fare was all that was available and the alternative was going hungry one takes the practical course and eats it all the same." He stopped and slowly twirled around like a model displaying his clothing. "As you can see barring the nun's promises it hardly lived up to it hype either." Topping out at less than five foot six inches in height and maybe one hundred and twenty pounds soaking wet I could see that Mr. Goldman's case for liver and onions hardly matched that of the commercials for Wheaties or any of the advertisements for weight gainer powders that body builders used.

"Perhaps it did." I said with a hint of an evil smile. "Think of how much more svelte you might be if you had not made this part of your childhood diet." I laughed and he smiled in response.

"Now there is a happy thought." His words dripped with sarcasm. "Of course then might I assume your own love of Pâté is the source of your obvious freakish height?" Mr. Goldman was hardly one to hold back from a duel of words when the verbal gauntlet was tossed down before him. The fact that I was six feet tall was often a subject of his jests with me.

"Ewww…no!" I said remembering how it had tasted when I tried to swallow it. "I just experienced it recently for the first time and I was barely able to hold it down."

"That is how it is for me as well." He said with a nod of understanding. "Only in the French culture, the people who decided both snails and calf's brains are delicacies, are chef's prone to taking something so reviled by children the world over and turning it around to convince the rest of the world's adults that it is suddenly a delicacy."

"Then maybe the Eastern Bloc countries got some of these things right." I kindly reminded him of his own origins in after the Cold War had begun. "I can't think that citizens in Russia or Romania wasted good money on such impractical products just to try and impress people."

"Then you would be wrong Ms. Carpenter. Foolishness is a factor of human nature not based upon any political system. The difference merely lies in how large a group is empowered to determine who the ultimate fool to lead a nation is." He said with a shake of his head. "And if anything such proclaimed pinnacles of cultured living in the West with all the references in our movies and advertisements provide the means for these same items to achieve almost divine status in the East, that being a joke of course since nothing in Communism is divine. Citizens may spend an entire week's wages on such trash for their party merely as a means to show one's superior culture to their friends. I am certain though that even when used for social climbing Pâté still tastes like over spiced meaty mush."

"Any system of governance that is balanced on a collective effort of the whole is doomed to failure, as there are always those who seek to gain from the work of others. That ambition is what drives individuals to explore and create success, ultimately pushing society forward. But if not properly tempered, it's disastrous." He said in a rather practiced teacher's voice.

"Is that a quote I am supposed to remember from class?" I asked searching my brain.

"No it is a bit of wisdom I recently heard expressed at a scholarly seminary." He replied. "It struck me as so profound that I recorded it." He said and then offered me a wink. "Well, because it was so profound and also because the female speaker was very pleasant to look upon as well, especially when we had a chance to be alone after the conference. Not only was she politically and historically astute, but I learned firsthand she was also a student of yoga."

That is just disturbing on more than a few levels so I pushed it aside in my mind. Thank you Harry for teaching me this skill for it has other emergency benefits that you probably never intended. Unfortunately it also left me without any immediate comeback.

Mr. Goldman looked down at my shopping basket and then looked back at me. "My dear are you anemic?" He said with a look of actual concern in his eyes.

"Anemic?"

"Yes." He replied. "Do you have a low blood iron count or are you starting one of those odd fad high iron food diets girls your age always seem to rave about in order to lose twenty pounds in three days? One of the nuns at school has a special diet with these same foods because her body will not absorb iron from multivitamins."

"No nothing like that it's just…" His words suddenly struck me. "Did you say low iron count?"

"Yes I did." Mr. Goldman replied. "All those food you have in your basket are extremely high in iron. And for that matter so is Pâté. It seems odd that you would single out such foods randomly." He said as I looked on in a bit of shock at what he was telling me.

"Don't worry Molly." He said patting my back. "Most of the European royals suffered from anemia as well and lived to a ripe old age, if they were not beheaded by relatives or an angry mob of peasants that is. You just have to make sure you build your iron intake levels up slowly or you can cause iron poisoning in your body which can destroy your liver." I was still running this revelation through my head.

"Are you by any chance related to royalty?" He continued with a smile and a hopefully look since this was a pet subject for him.

"Uuumm yes Charlemagne actually." I said since Harry had just recently had me perform this exact research anyway.

"Ah that is most excellent and explains the source of the anemia." He stood back behind his own shopping cart as if preparing to leave. "Don't worry my dear you will be fine. Anemia rarely kills. You just need to have faith everything will be all right." With that particular comment I turned and looked at Mr. Goldman to see if he were possibly Hisha in disguise, the raksasha said his race's natural ability was to appear as friends, but there was nothing magical that I sensed about him. The choice of words just happened to be coincidence for a Catholic school teacher before saying goodbye.

I took my basket and wandered away as well now seeking a relatively calm part of the store and not caring where it was as long as I had the quiet from distraction that I needed to think. I closed my eyes and focused on what this new bit of information would mean in light of the events I had witnessed in the Summer Court.

According to Mr. Goldman all these foods served at the private banquet were overloaded with iron. Secondly, iron just happened to be the very substance whose touch was lethal to the Fae. It therefore made sense that by ingesting these foods both the Lady of Summer and her Knight had indeed inadvertently poisoned themselves. They had also done so with a substance that would not appear as venom or a toxin to the magical spells of detection that Elaine and I had cast since spells to some level are affected by the experiences of the caster. Since iron was not a toxin to Elaine or I our spells would not have revealed it as one either.

While it was possible that all of these events were therefore just a huge mistake of choosing the wrong menu, Mr. Goldman had been correct that the odds of choosing _only_ foods of high iron content stretched credibility. Someone had purposely selected these and therefore did so knowing what effect they would have on the diners.

Of course the Lady and Knight of Summer had both eaten the meal because to them the banquet just appeared to be regular everyday foods. It also explained why the satyr had not turned his nose up at the free meal either even though it was deadly to his kind. If my speculations were true why then did it kill the satyr nearly instantly after eating but leave the Lady and Knight only in a coma?

Could this merely be the result in the difference of their body masses? Such things were possible with toxins. I knew that counter to Hollywood myths a single rattlesnake bite for example rarely killed an adult human because most people were too big for the amount of venom a snake would inject to be killed; sickened yes, but not killed. But as far as body weight went the satyr was not all that smaller than the Summer Knight and probably more massive than the Lady of Summer who was rather frail looking. Body mass therefore was most likely not the answer I was looking for.

I guess it was possible that the increased levels of magic that imbued their bodies had somehow protected them more than the satyr but if that were true then it was unlikely that Harry and his army of assistant faeries had taken down the former of Lady of Summer Aurora if her natural magic worked as life insurance. It was because of the event of Aurora's death that had made way for Lily to assume that position. Otherwise she and Fix would have perhaps remained mortal and…

That had to be it! Both Lily, the new Lady of Summer, and Fix, the new Summer Knight had been half human at birth, born of the conception between one human parent and a being from the Nevernever. Both had grown up mostly here in the mortal world so had been exposed to foods, even those high in iron, since they were born. That meant over time they had probably built up some form of limited immunity to the iron in these foods. Maybe they had only made them nauseous in their past lives or given them a headache. But once they stepped up and accepted their new roles in the Summer Court they became completely of the Fae and therefore took on their immunities to an even greater extent.

These facts strongly suggested there was a very subtle intellect working behind the scenes who had understood and planned all of this. This obviously understood the pair's weakness, understood it better than the two of them obviously did, and used this knowledge against them. Unfortunately for the plotter though the meal filled with high iron content food had obviously been meant to kill the pair but their partial human history provided them some level of immunity to this assassination attempt. Instead of acting as a quick poison like cyanide the way the satyr suffered, the pair was instead suffering under a slower acting poison such as arsenic. Their bodies would fight off the iron it had consumed but without a proper treatment regiment to save them they would likely still die. And in such a case it was powers in the Summer Court, the Abagalesidhe in fact, who would gain power through their deaths. She scared me enough to consider her the mastermind behind all of this.

Next the plotter had also understood not only the likely response by both courts to prevent war would be to select emissaries to investigate these events. He or she or perhaps they had also either known this would be Harry and Elaine or had manipulated events to ensure mortal were selected so that the iron poisoning would not be identified and magic would instead be suspected. Of course the Winter token would support this conclusion as well.

The question though that I still needed an answer to was just who was behind this plot. It stood to reason that these events were part of the same plot to steal away Summer's most loyal and powerful forces and at the same time also ship firearms, or more accurately bang sticks, into the Nevernever for an upcoming war as well. Obviously two of these three actions served only to weaken Summer forces giving a huge advantage to Winter. The third would serve whoever was behind the order and receipt of these weapons. Add to that the Winter token found on the body of the cook and you have overwhelming evidence pointing directly at Mab and Maeve.

And in my experience with the Fae, limited as it was except for Harry's teachings, it almost seemed like too much evidence to convict them. The Fae like to work much more subtly behind the scenes then this. True the original poisoning plot was subtle but once that piece lay exposed the rest was so obvious as to leave little room for denial by Winter. Unless of course it was all planted evidence.

Maybe though I was letting my thoughts get ahead of the evidence. Maeve had said as far as she knew Queen Mab had not ordered this assassination attempt on the Lady and Knight of Summer. Maeve could not lie to me when questioned directly but the acknowledged limits of what she knew did not clear Winter Court from being behind this. Harry also suspected that Mab was perhaps going insane. If that were true perhaps it would make her plots less subtle than normal for her kind.

The outlier was the involvement of parties not aligned to either court. Master Rupert Highpelt for example was not part of the Winter Court. Dwarves lived in the lands of the Wyldfae and were not aligned to either side of this eternal conflict. And according to Harry the Wydfae powers such as those of the Erlking mostly ignored the eternal struggle between Summer and Winter and instead focused on their own personal interests; hunting being the Erlking's favorite pastime. Normally the Wyldfae took no interest in these events.

This conflict, however, seemed to have drawn the Erlking's interest for some reason. In fact it was even important enough for him to send his own emissary, something Harry had never mentioned the Wlydfae had ever done. And these series of attacks on Summer showed a level of sophisticated strategy worthy of a chess player.

I did not want to think that Lord Kline was actually involved in this plot, but objectively would he not make the perfect agent to keep Elaine and I off balance and looking for a source in the Summer or Winter Courts while it was actually the Erlking moving to attack behind the scenes? And with ancient hostilities keeping Summer and Winter's eyes focused so strongly at each other, perhaps neither would see the real enemy until they were both being attacked. That sounded very much the way a talented hunter stalked its prey.

The one continuing inconsistency in all of this was the Winter token. I had experienced with my own eyes that once given to an emissary of the courts the token stayed with them unerringly as mine had done by reappearing in my room. Such an item was also poison to the very land of Summer. Therefore the token and its former owner held the key to this mystery now. The question I needed answered though is who was this cook, what had he done for the Winter Court to earn their favor, and by whose command did he just happen to end up making dinner for the Lady and Knight of Summer? And only beings in the Nevernever had answers to these questions. I needed to find Elaine.

"Molly?" I turned my head to see Father Forthill pushing a cart of groceries through the store. He had a rather disapproving look on his face as he stared in my direction. "Is there a reason you are standing next to the rack of condoms with such a determined look upon your face?" He asked with a note of suspicion in his tone and a raised eyebrow.

I turned back and noted that the 'quiet place' I had found to think was the exactly where Father Forthill had described. I suddenly felt my cheeks burning in the heaviest blush I had worn in years…okay maybe hours. "I wasn't… I mean I was only thinking… I didn't…" I stumbled trying to find the words and noting that other shoppers in the store were now all coming to a stop to take in the sight of a well-known perky young local lady being questioned by her priest about objects frowned upon both by the Pope and Charity Carpenter. Oh yeah this was going to get back to my mom…

"Molly I think we need to talk." Father Forthill said in his…well... fatherly way. "I expect to see you at Confession on Sunday."

I started to argue or to explain my real reason for standing here but I realized the actual damage was done. "Yes Father." I said meekly as my neighbors continued to stand around listening to our exchange while pretending to be very interested in diaper rash treatments, foot fungus cures, and sunburn salves with two feet of snow on the ground outside and then quietly began to snicker at my expense. Why do these things happen to me?

Grocery shopping accomplished I headed to the hospital to relieve my mother and found her smiling at me; obviously news of the condom incident had yet to reach her ears. I figured I might as well enjoy the moment since my good fortune would likely only last a few hours longer. Juicy gossip in my neighborhood moves almost at the speed of light.

"They are letting your father go home tonight." My mother was beaming at the news. "He will need a wheelchair for a few weeks so we will be staying in the guest room downstairs but at least he will be back with the people who love him so he can do some real healing."

I thought on how my younger siblings would likely want to crawl all over my father and debated just how much healing he would actually be doing, but the way he was smiling and holding my mom's hand I knew that home was where he needed to be. And the best doctors and nurses could not compare with my mom for either pampering him back to health or ensuring my father took his medicine and did all the required exercises the hospital prescribed.

"That is great!" I said with no hesitation. "What do you need me to do?" I asked seeing that the look my mother was currently wearing said she wanted to spend as little remaining time within these antiseptic walls as possible.

"Actually you are free to do whatever you want." My dad said before my mother could produce her ever present backup list of tasks. "The hospital had a wheelchair carrier that had been donated for those in need and two of the orderlies are installing it now on our van. Between that and my crutches, plus of course the love and support of your mother, I think we have everything covered at the present. Why don't you take a night off for yourself?" He said with a conspiratorial wink.

The difference between what my dad said and an actual lie is that he had not said 'why don't you _finally_ take a night off for yourself?' That would have meant I had spent all my nights here which he had prevented me from doing. Thankfully she was so giddy about his impending release that she was barely even listening to him. I've come to suspect that this may be a key to a successful marriage.

In the end I did wait around and help push his wheelchair out to the van and between the three of us and two male orderlies we got him and the chair properly situated with the van. I gave my dad a hug while my mom got behind the wheel and then I watched them drive away.

The good news is that because of this I had time to catch an actual meal at a restaurant for once. Okay it was only Denny's but still it beat fast food. I still got over to Harry's place before five and found I was the first to arrive. I did find the promised faerie clothing in a package on his step and while I had been less than happy with its embarrassing loss this morning, I figured the added protection it brought would be worth the chance of a repeat of these events.

The next thing I did was gather together another bag of magical supplies since I had dropped mine somewhere during the battle with the last spider and unlike the Winter token it had not been magically imbued to follow me home. I did add two extra crystals to my collection so I would not repeat this error from yesterday if they were for some reason required.

No dress and armed I looked at the clock and noted it was not quite six and had to decide what to do for the next hour until the others arrived. Normally I'd have grabbed one of Harry's paperbacks and sat down to read but I could not calm down enough to concentrate and get into the book. I took Mouse for his walk and when I came back I noted that Harry's answering machine had a message from Butters for either Harry or me depending upon who heard it first. I of course had to look up the number to the medical examiner's office since Harry's phone did not have caller ID but once I dialed it the other end was answered after just one ring.

"This is Molly Carpenter returning a call from Medical Examiner Butters." I said when I heard the standard greeting.

"GIRLFRIEND!" I immediately recognized Crystal's husky but obviously happy voice.

"Hi Crystal." I said with a smile. "How are you doing?"

"Exhausted, sore, and gaining an appreciation for the art of polka if you know what I mean." She said with a satisfied laugh that nearly had me choking and shuddering all at once. You know how I have mentioned that both Wizard Sight and soulgazes leave the viewer with images they will never be able to forget? I had the feeling that if I allowed myself to picture Butters and Crystal together like she was indicating that this would also be an image that would haunt me for the rest of my life.

"Uuummm… yeah, speaking of he left a message that I was to call." I wanted to get away from this subject as fast as possible.

"Sure thing Molly I'll call him down here." She said. "I so owe you a huge favor girlfriend." Don't picture it Molly…whatever you do…don't you dare picture it!

It took a few minutes and then I heard Butters arguing with Crystal to give him the phone and her negotiating for a kiss. It was not a real argument but more of a plea followed up by a threat that if she did not stop he would be forced to punish her. I could have sworn she giggled at this and said she hoped so because she had been bad. This created a dilemma for me as I could not put the phone down to avoid hearing anything else but really the whole thing was just getting too much. Thankfully she relented and handed him the phone.

"Molly?" Butters asked and the exhaustion in his voice was even more pronounced than it had been in hers. I then heard the distinctive sound of what could only be a slap of a hand on a rather fleshy part of the body followed immediately by his command for her to behave.

"Ummm…yeah…you called?" I asked trying to ignore what I was hearing. Focus on the words only Molly I thought to myself.

"Yes it's about that exsanguinations case we discussed earlier this week." Butters explained but I had suspected as much since he had asked for me or Harry.

"Oh did you figure out who the victim was yet?" I hoped that maybe with an identity it might give me some sort of clue as to why this particular person had been a victim. And if I knew why then perhaps I could figure out just what was doing the killing. It was a long shot since other bodies had been stacking up, but sometimes long shots are the only shots.

"In fact we did." He said with more than a little pride. "I injected the victim's right hand with a medical epoxy gelatin and filled it to the rough consistency of actual flesh thereby…" The image of pumping up the skin of a dead body made me wish I had not stopped at Denny's afterall.

"Skip the details I just ate." I said.

"Oh sorry, pride in the job I guess." He laughed. "Anyway I was able to lift prints and it turns out the victim was none other than Jimmy Marteen the figure skater."

"The one the entire Chicago Police Department was looking for?" Not that there could be two but it was worth confirming none the less.

"Yep that's the one." He confirmed. "They have released the news of his death only to his agent and family."

"But what about how he was killed?" I said. "Surely hose close to him want to know what killed him."

"Yep." He agreed. "But the bosses downtown decided that automobile accident looked much better on the medical report than sucked dry by some unknown creature. Officially the case file says he suffered 'massive internal organ damage and blood loss consistent in scope with a high speed traffic accident.' As you can see the official paperwork does not actually lie and say he was in a car accident, only that the total damage was consistent with this type of event."

"Then you are off the hook for explaining it?" I asked. "If they have a different ME working the case then you should be safe right?"

"For that particular case yes you are correct." Butters agreed but had a delay in his voice. "Unfortunately the police just dropped four more identical bodies off here tonight so I was hoping you might have determined what it was that has been killing people."

"No." I said. "I'm sorry but none of Harry's books seem to have a clue. You said there were four new ones now?" I asked.

"Yep, they brought them in an hour ago."

"Do you have any idea where they found them?" I asked thinking that maybe someone had come across the corpses we had found in Undertown last night.

"They were found at the Chicago Zoo this morning." Butters answered. "They were lying in the arctic habitat area. The zoo keepers noticed that the penguins and the sea lions were avoiding one area and assumed one of the animals had died. Instead they found these four bodies."

That location was odd to me but worse still were his next revelations. "The odd thing was all four were dressed in exactly the same fashion."

"In weather like this Butters or at the arctic habitat that is hardly surprising." I reasoned based upon his words. "I assume they were all in parkas or snowmobile suits?"

"No." He said. "That was the odd thing. All four were only wearing sandals and red speedos."


	17. Chapter 17

**Semper Fidelis**

**_Chapter 17_**

Perhaps I was biased by being the Winter Court Emissary but I felt that if anyone was going to be able to fill in a few more pieces of this puzzle it would be Lady Maeve. The Winter token being the odd item out in this mystery it needed a further explanation and neither Summer Court nor the Wyldfae would likely be able to provide the types of answers I needed. And if they could provide them then that very fact alone would assuredly make them desire not to and probably put all our lives in jeopardy.

Daniel and Elaine arrived almost at the same time, Daniel by cab and Elaine pulling up across the street in her rented car. I was going to compliment her luck on keeping a modern car running, a feat Harry could not accomplish for so many days, when the engine of her car suddenly revved up even after she had turned it off to the point of screaming as it redlined and then the entire v vehicle shuddered into a smoky and silent death. Thankfully Daniel upon seeing this event had the immediate sense of mind to keeping the cab here on standby for our use while Elaine went inside quickly and used Harry's phone to call her rental company to come collect their car.

We put our bags in the trunk of the cab and all three of us piled into the back seat because the driver was nervous having anyone sporting armor, a sword, or a flail riding up in the front next to him. I guess some people are easily put off by the simplest of things. He did make an awkward apology but said since his last car a few years ago during a blackout had gotten stepped on by what he was certain was a dinosaur there was no way he was taking any chances with the passengers he let into this one. I guess all things being equal that was not an irrational decision.

I gave him the name and location of the two destinations we had to head for. The first was a sporting goods shop and the second a place even stranger and more unlikely which raised eyebrows with my two companions. I would have to explain all this to them in a minute but I first needed to know what they had learned during the day.

"Elaine, what is the word from Summer Court?" I asked hoping against hope for some good news but not really expecting her to provide it.

"I was unable to speak to any of those aligned directly with Summer but I did chat with a pixie over in the city's botanical gardens and she said everyone in the Nevernever was now was aware that the Summer Lady and Summer Knight were close to death and that war between the Courts was on the horizon. The Wyldfae have begun to choose their sides and the pixie was leaving to do so soon as well though she said she like most this time preferred to remain neutral in these events and let the courts' forces settle things without them." Elaine replied which should have been some good news but really just confirmed the worst of what I already feared.

"And what about Summer's preparations for war?" I asked. "Will they attack anytime soon?"

"The preparations continue." Elaine replied. "Supposedly Queen Tatania has left the court and both her and Abagalesidhe are in the field rallying their remaining forces. All those ere on the mortal plane have returned for this summons which is why only Wyldfae remained to be questioned. More of Summer's forces are rumored to have defected it seems and only the presence of the most powerful nobles appears to be keeping still others from doing the same."

"The pixie did say though that the current rumor is those defecting forces of Summer offered their loyalty more to the Lady of Summer than to the Summer Queen. Some go so far as to whisper that they suspect that Queen Tatania was even behind the attack on Lily and Fix in order to better secure her own powerbase by removing a very popular rival. I know this is a lie but I seem to be in the minority. Supposedly Abagalesidhe has not been so forgiving and personally struck down a few who dared to make such a comment as an example to others."

"With the army and nobles in the field have they left Lily and Fix alone and unguarded?" I asked in complete surprise.

"No, both still have their personal guards and retinues, a small token force at best, because even though Queen Tatania desperately needs these additional soldiers, she cannot make it appear that the rumors of her fearing a rival to have credence by leaving the Lady and Knight unguarded and vulnerable. Instead she must show she is doing everything for their survival even though no one truly expects them to recover." Elaine explained.

"Well that is something we can use to our advantage at least." I said somewhat happy with this additional complication for it screwed up for the other side what I now suspected was the real plan in motion.

"How can you say that? If someone were to slay the pair now it would better serve the Queen's purpose for she could transfer their power to others such as Abagale." Elaine explained and I was reminded that she considered some among the Summer Court like a certain centaur to be close acquaintances if not friends. "As it stands Queen Tatania dares not begin a fight with this power unavailable to her, but dares not hurry the process forward by ending their lives for fear of that action causing her to lose even more of the remaining forces she still has the loyalty of. Mab has maneuvered Queen Tatania into a perfect no win situation."

"Yes, or as our friend Lord Kline would say Queen Tatania has been placed into check." I said agreeing with Elaine before turning my attention to Daniel.

He was enraptured of our conversation even though he probably understood only a bare sliver of it. "I noticed that you were unsuccessful with the task I asked you to do?" I questioned though I was ninety-nine percent sure of the answer before he said it.

"I did what you asked but…" He seemed to want to say more but was unsure if he should.

"Don't worry about it." I said brushing it off. "After you left I came to expect this would be the result. In fact I would have been surprised if what I had asked you had actually come about." Yes the pieces certainly seemed to be in the right places.

"Alright what have you learned?" Elaine asked realizing I was holding my own cards close to my chest as I gathered their information first. Fortunately at this moment we were just pulling up to the sporting good shop I had requested and that was thankfully still open. I told Daniel what I needed and he looked at me oddly. Thankfully, being a wizard allows one some leeway from automatically being placed into the 'crazy relative' category and Daniel decided to humor me and run in to buy what I told him we needed. Elaine had no compunction of looking skeptically at me.

As Daniel was in the store I laid out to Elaine all that I had figured out about the poisoning and who I suspected was behind these events. She was resistant at first to both my synopsis and suspect list but as I made my case point by point I could see her initial opposition to the idea crumbling. By the end of my explanation, while she still seemed a little skeptical, she was willing to admit it indeed had possibilities of being correct. In truth I almost preferred to be wrong based upon what that meant.

"You realize that this goes completely against Occam's Razor that Harry always says is key to an investigation, right?" Elaine said still not ready to join my side.

"Yeah, but even you have to admit the Winter token instead of making that explanation more likely screams of a set up, right?" I asked just as Daniel got back into the car carrying two small Tupperware dishes of necessary supplies. He tried to hand them to Elaine who was sitting next to him as he buckled his seatbelt but she was having no part in this or willing take what it was that he was holding.

"Give it to your sister." Elaine said. "This is her crazy idea after all. It is a scheme so twisted it would make Harry proud."

I smiled at this but turned away to stare out the window. Elaine understood now why we were headed to the second destination but had no idea of the history behind this. I caught Daniel looking at me out of the corner of my eye as we got closer and figured that thanks to our soulgaze this morning he probably understood what this meant to me. And because of that I had to remain cool and not show how much I was shaking with fear inside.

As the taxi pulled up in front of the building I could not stop myself from turning and looking at a place that up until now I had done everything I could to avoid, which really did not require much. Fate of course never seems to give me a break. Considering that Daniel's involvement in these events seemed based in part of our shared event of more than a year ago I could hardly be surprised though that after reliving the assault in our home by the phages that now I was forced to return to the Pell Theater once more where Scarecrow and the Reaper had taken me after their attack on our home.

I remembered being carried away from our house by the pair for what seemed like an eternity. I had screamed and screamed until my voice was raw from the fear. No one on the somewhat busy Chicago streets came to rescue me when I screamed, and anyone our paths crossed fled when they felt the terror the phages emanated from their bodies. When my voice finally gave out I just prayed I would faint from overwhelming sense of panic I felt but the two holding me seemed to have ways to make sure that never happened so that they could continue to feed off of my fear.

They had paused outside the Pell Theater so that when I opened my eyes I would know exactly where I was and why I was here. This is where the first of the phages had emerged from at my unconscious call and the pair wanted me to understand even without saying so that I had been responsible for it all; the pain, the wounds, even the deaths. I found the strength to squeak out a last shriek of denial and that seemed to be their cue to take me inside.

As I sat in the cab now looking at the theater once again I saw that very little had changed in the past year plus since that night. Mr. Pell was a simple business man and did not have the money to make major improvements compared to the big multiplex theaters in most of the malls around town. He had agreed to help host SplatterCon in part to raise money for restoring his business but those funds and more had gone instead to paying for his unforeseen medical bills; bills that I had been responsible for.

A cult following had grown up immediately after these events where horror movie fans all wanted to see the theater open again and show only these types of movies once more. Some urban legend had been created from these events that said the characters from these movies sometimes came to life here. Instead of scaring people away this story of danger became a draw for more potential business.

Mr. Pell though would hear nothing of it even when he understood the ticket sales would have made him significantly richer. I had heard a bigwig in Chicago had even offered to buy him out, but Mr. Pell turned him down. He swore that no horror films would ever be shown on the screens in this theater ever again.

I looked at the still lit up marquee and saw that Mr. Pell had taken that idea one step further. Not only were no horror movies shown at the Pell Theater anymore, but the theater only played movies, primarily Disney and other kiddies' movies, and those only during daylight hours. Surprisingly this family friendly decision brought in slightly more business than before the events of SplatterCon so other than the medical bills Mr. Pell had actually come out in a slightly better position. I wished that the same could be said for the rest of us.

"Molly, are you sure you want to do this?" Daniel asked me with a voiced so filled with concern that Elaine even raised an eyebrow. A lot had changed since she left she was only now beginning to understand. I had to remember later to thank her for helping it come about.

I turned and looked at the two of them and as calmly as I could I tried to sound as strong as Harry would under this type of situation. "It's not about what I want Daniel." I said as I reached though the Plexiglas and handed some cash to the cabbie before I opened the door to get out. "It's about doing what needs to be done." Yeah I so wish I felt as confident as I sounded.

Daniel followed me out and then Elaine as we waited for the cabbie to open the trunk so we could each retrieve our packs. "You know how I have said you are sounding too much like Harry?" Elaine said to me with a smile of support. "Forget I said anything Molly. I think you are learning all the right lessons and should be proud of yourself." Yeah I just might do that if we actually live through this night.

We waited for the cab to drive off before we tried the front doors and found them locked. No real surprise there since it had been dark for almost four hours now. Having been here before I led the others around to the emergency fire door in an alley on the side of the building. The door was locked here too of course but I figured a spell would take care of it.

"Forget it kid." Elaine said pulling forth a set of lock picks from her pocket. "Harry said this was a good skill to learn if I was going to be a private investigator and I have to admit it keeps my fingers nimble. I figure five minutes tops and we will be inside."

"Are we in a rush?" Daniel asked before she started looking back and forth at the two of us.

"A little I guess." I answered.

"Then stand back ladies." He said pulling a three foot long iron crowbar out of the gym bag he carried and with a practiced ease slammed the end into the space between the door and the jam and with one flex of his arms popped the door open. I could see Elaine was smiling in approval and I had the distinct impression she was still seeing him in his Spartan costume. Sometimes being a sensitive wizard can really be disturbing!

"So this theater has a crossover point to the lands of Winter?" Elaine asked.

"Even better." I said as I led the other two into the building, past the bathrooms, offices, and concession stands and finally to the big screen of the theater itself.

"Better how?" Elaine asked once we finally stopped.

"I figure we don't have a lot of time to waste just wandering around freezing in the snow as we look for the Winter Court." I said as I stood in the middle of the stage at the base of the screen and held my Winter token up to touch the canvas material. Instantly a portal opened up in response. "That is why this one takes us directly to Arctis Tor, the center of Mab's power." Without a chance for Elaine to object I stepped through the portal and into the lands of Winter once more, this time though on my own two feet not carried by a pari of nightmares.

For those who have never been there, or should I say the lucky ones who have never been there, Arctis Tor is like the most inhospitable parts of Siberia, Antarctica, and Buffalo, New York all rolled up as one. It is a hard, unforgiving environment populated by nasty things that for fun have competitions to see who can kill and eat even nastier things than themselves. That Darwinian approach leaves only the meanest, most cunning, and ill tempered creatures to call this place home; which is exactly the types of things Queen Mab likes to keep company with.

I stepped through the portal and into a snow bank, no surprise as that was the principle and dominant land feature, and waited for the others to follow suit. My faerie attire kept me surprisingly warm in temperatures way colder than where we had left Chicago. Daniel followed nearly on my heels and while dressed warm for a Chicago winter night, his first breath in the lands of Winter was almost his last. One does not suck gouts of frozen air into the lungs, which happen to be all moist, and hope to survive for long. Thankfully, he adapted quickly and took very shallow breaths through his nose though I could see the chill was getting quickly getting to him none the less.

Elaine stepped through last, though not attired in faerie clothing her own emissary token placed a glowing shell of warmth around her. On the good side it kept her from freezing, but on the bad side she instantly sank into the snow that was mid thigh high on her. Daniel came to her rescue and between his strength to lean on and her Summer provided warmth the two supported and balanced each other out.

"So which way do we go now?" Elaine asked looking around and seeing almost blinding blowing snow making drifts across seemingly endless tundra in all directions. But even with all that cold and snow trying to white out my eyes I could sense we were not alone.

"We stay right here." I explained drawing my sword and pulling magic to me. "We need to talk to the welcoming party first."

At my words half a dozen grey, shaggy shadows stood up from under the snow banks they had been sleeping under as they served as a guard for this portal. Each was more than two feet taller than me, slightly smaller than Lord Kline perhaps, but double his mass in polar bear like mixtures of tough hide, warming fat, and solid, deadly muscle. A sudden reminder that something had killed one of these things quickly and quietly right outside of Harry's apartment did not make me feel any safer about what I may be facing this night if things went according to plan.

One of the creatures took an angry challenging step toward me since I was standing out front of our small group. It gathered hostility at obviously sensing the Summer magic of Elaine's token and thinking us to be enemies if what I sensed was correct. "Stop!" I ordered it raising my hand in its direction. It either had dealings with wizards before and was wisely cautious or it found my challenge to be mildly entertaining to allow to continue. "Go inform Lady Maeve that her emissary wishes to speak with her." I ordered showing the creature my own Winter token as a proof of my identity and granting me the protection of the Winter Court.

The shaggy creature growled at me and I could tell it was debating if it should follow my command or not. Like I said things in Arctis Tor are rather disagreeable by nature and while I have received many approving smiles for my look as a perky wizard apprentice, I really do not rate all that high on a yeti's intimidation scale. Thankfully I have magic at my disposal to back up my other assets.

I gave a quick thought to the situation and called up a spell, raising my hand high above my head and pulling the heat from Elaine's token to burst into a flaming beach ball of fire above my head. "You would be wise to do as I command unless you want to feel the Summer fire." I said making the ball of flame pulse in my hand as if eager to fly toward a target. The yeti got the message and he turned and ran off into the snowstorm while its other five companions pulled back so they were only vague shadows in the snow at the edge of our vision. Their silent message is that they would guard against any further foolish moves on our part. Only when they settled in once more did I let the flames in my hand extinguish so that I had other magic available to me if it was required.

"Are you crazy?" Elaine said in a harsh whisper. "You can't threaten to use Summer's power here in the heart of Winter." Her eyes showed a mixture of outrage and fear. "How were you even able to do that? You are not Summer's Emissary."

"I'm not." I agreed. "Therefore that magic is beyond my ability." I said with a smile.

"But I saw you…" Elaine said and then stopped. "You used an illusion!" She reasoned.

"Yeah I figured there is no way Mab or Maeve can be insulted if I only _looked_ like I used Summer's powers." I said with a smile. "It's certainly not my fault that their door guards fell for it."

Elaine laughed more out of nervousness than joy. "You are so going to get us killed."

"Oh I doubt it." I said.

"After that display of our guard's inherent mental weaknesses and your explanation I will also agree you will not die, at least not right this instant." Maeve's voice said from close by as she stepped forward in her radiant glory to look at the visitors to her Queen's domain. "That thing with the Summer flame illusion was really very good Molly." Maeve said. "You are certainly as creatively resourceful as your master. Would you perhaps be interested in a more permanent position among our forces? We are always looking for new and fresh talent."

Being a wizard attuned to emotions I was suddenly overcome by the strong sense of wanton desire that Daniel felt upon seeing his first Fae, or at least the first one not trying to kill him. No longer attempting to pass herself off as a mortal I saw that Maeve appear as he natural self with deep green feline like eyes highlighted with black and impossibly long lashes that Max Factor would pay millions for to put on a billboard. Her skin was almost too pale as if sickly and her multicolored strands of blue, green, and black hair made this stand out even more so. She was wearing a leather dog collar studded with diamond icicles and a regular crew neck T-shirt that had been violently converted to a V-neck by ripping down the front to maybe an inch above her navel. It was also so tight that she was almost bursting out it, almost that is much to Daniel's frustration. The shirt mockingly asked 'If he's your boyfriend why is he with me?' Lastly she wore a leather miniskirt that would have cause Madonna to put her foot down and boots for tromping in the snow; deep blue thigh highs with at least a six inch heel.

"I already have a job but thanks." I said in response as she stepped up to the point of just violating my personal space as if to show me that she did not fear me. I half suspected this was more as a show for the yetis who were still moving around out at the edge of my vision.

Elaine pulled on Daniel's arm to stop him from staring now that an icicle stalagmite was growing beneath his which of course also drew the Winter Lady's attention. "Oh he's a cute one!" Maeve said sizing up my brother as if he were still dressed as an out of work Spartan. "What would you be willing to trade for him?" She asked me with a quite serious tone.

"I'm not here to trade for anything Maeve." I said drawing her attention back to me. "We still have a binding agreement between us and I expect you to fulfill your part of the bargain. I have come here for more information." I said more as a command than a request to provide my own starting point. This made her eyes flash dangerously at me. I sensed both Elaine and Daniel tense but I tried to remain calm under her intense scrutiny.

"You do play a dangerous game child with your illusions." Maeve replied. "But I told you before you have neither the charm nor the intimidation ability of your master Harry so do not try my patience." Did I happen to mention that Maeve just seethed with raw power compared to either Elaine or myself. How Harry had taken down Aurora, Maeve's counterpart in Summer, now seemed all the more incredible to me when I was faced with just what the level of task that had been.

"See that is where you are wrong Maeve. You think I am bluffing when I figure I have very little to lose so also little to fear." I replied though holding onto my air of cockiness. "By the way I reckon things, if you decide to kill me then the real villain behind the attack on the Lady of Summer and the Summer Knight remains free. Maybe he or she decides to come after you next since they have demonstrated they have the ability. Or on the other hand Lily and Fix will die and the power of Summer they hold will be reissued just in time for a war when the Winter Court is short its own Winter Knight. Maybe you and Mab win with the peak of winter so close but then again maybe you don't. Either way, one faerie court is destroyed and the other ends up much weaker and easy pickings for any other enemies the court has made over the centuries. So if that is what Queen Mab wants as an epitaph we both know I can't stop you."

She seethed at all of this but to my credit what I said actually calmed her. I had not challenged her power, which she had tremendous pride in, I merely challenged the way she chose to act and wield it and showed her how the course she suggested would in the long term be disastrous for her. And in this case with what was at stake even Maeve in her pride could see that I was in the right, though she hardly was willing to admit it.

We stood facing each other in a long tense moment of silence before she finally spoke again. "By the terms of our contract you may ask your questions Winter Emissary." She said ensuring to use my title of a member of her court to likely appease her bruised pride and remind Elaine and Daniel that my competence and fearlessness, all an illusion as far as I was concerned, was why Winter had accepted me in Harry's stead in the first place.

"Thank you for your honor and wisdom Lady Winter." I said trying not to provoke Maeve any more than I already had. What I needed from her now was simple honest answers. The honest I was pretty much assured of by our agreement but as I have said in the past faeries have a way of twisting words in their answers so that they may tell you the truth but you are left with the wrong impression through your own interpretation. With Fix and Lily close to death I had no time for playing these types of word games. An annoyed Maeve wanting to answer my questions and be done with me best served my current needs, or at least that is what her emotions bespoke.

"Since we last spoke even more of Summer's forces are said to have defected and all suspect they have come to Winter's side." I explained setting the stage. "Are you aware of any gathering of former Summer armies under the banner of Winter?" I asked.

"There are no Summer forces in the domains of Winter with perhaps the rare exception of a few singular spies numbering in total less than ten that Queen Mab takes great delight in torturing." Maeve replied. "We too admit that Summer's armies in the field appear smaller than what our intelligence suggests but it is our belief that the Summer Queen is merely hiding her own forces in order to lure us into a false sense of security. We suspect their claim of defecting armies merely provides Summer plausible deniability of responsibility when these same forces attack us."

"How could Summer hide her armies?" I asked Maeve. "While the Queen's are powerful the magic to maintain such a veil would be incredible hard to maintain."

"That is true and we would undoubtedly sense such a spell." Maeve responded. "But our detection magic has the same limitations of all such spells. A large body of water would shelter them against our scrying. More likely though, Queen Tatania has merely sequestered her forces on the mortal plane near one of the portals to the Winter Demesnes. When our armies engage in battle these forces will come through this hidden gate and strike at the heart of Winter."

"That is why you have the yetis guarding this gate." I suddenly understood.

"Indeed." Maeve said while nodding her head slowly. "The beasts serve as a first line of defense, a tripwire force, to alert us if anything not of Winter comes through these portals like you did."

Okay that seemed to me a logical answer and even Elaine seemed unable to find a means to argue with the story Maeve was saying to us since it fit the facts as we knew them. That meant it was time to turn the more important subject. I held my own Winter token out in my hand toward Maeve. "Can a token be stolen from the one the Queen or Lady gift it to?" I asked her as politely as I could to show that there was respect and honor for the gift.

"No." Maeve said. "They are created with a specific living being in mind. Once a token is placed in the hands of that individual it remains in their possession until they are no more or the terms of the contract are fulfilled." She said in response then elaborated even further. "Most tokens merely represent a favor due, Winter's equivalent to gold or currency that represents a service that may be 'bought' by the one so gifted because of a debt owed by the court."

"But you made this one for Harry yet I was able to take it up." I pointed out to her this inconsistency from what I had observed.

"That is because you are his apprentice and therefore a recognized extension of his power or his self." Maeve replied confirming the story I only suspected when this all first began. "His bond as your master also obligates him to be responsible for your actions. You are therefore like an appendage of him and the token accepted that and allowed you to pick it up."

The White Council viewed my apprenticeship in much the same way which is why Harry would die if I ever screwed up again. Any crime I committed would be looked upon as if he had done it so himself.

But how Maeve explained the power of the token made even more sense as to why whatever had killed the yeti delivery man had not taken the token with him. It simply could not because it had not yet been delivered. This seemed to confirm, as I now suspected, the yeti had not been a random murder by whatever was causing exsanguinations in Chicago. It was the target, or if my theory was right, the secondary target that the creature had come for. Perhaps the others were merely food or a means to cover the creature's tracks. I figure time would show that.

But to be safe and thorough I had to narrow down a few other possibilities especially in front of the Summer Emissary so she could report honestly on what she heard rather than on deductions and assumptions we made. "Can a token be given from the one you honored it with to unto another of their choosing?" I asked.

"It can." Maeve confirmed complicating the simplicity of my deductions. "But like your barter system this must be exchanged fair value for value. A favor cannot be transferred from one mortal to another on a whim or the token loses its value and disappears. It may only be traded for a good or service that the Winter Court acknowledges is of equal or greater value."

"So if I saved the life of someone with a favor, they could gift this to me in return." I asked.

"Indeed." Maeve confirmed with another slow nod of her head. "And you offer a good example for the subject you speak. A life for a service would demonstrate a powerful respect for what a Winter token represents so we would honor it. A smaller kindness such as giving as a birthday gift we would take as an insult of the original gift and therefore null the obligation before making our displeasure known."

"But could I buy it from the owner?" I asked. "If I could offer say a million dollars for the token would that work?"

"No." Maeve replied. "Money is a concept for your mortals. What is gold but rocks from the ground or your money than merely just paper? Neither substance holds any weight of value to us, though we are more than happy to trade it to mortals in exchange for things we desire it since you humans tend to hold it in such high esteem."

"And what happens to a token if it goes unredeemed at the time of the owner's death?" I asked.

"When a token no longer senses the life force of the one they are attuned to then the token fades away." Maeve answered. "It takes about a week of time in the mortal world since it is recognized that if gifted to someone like your master events may transpire where he is beyond its ability to sense for days at a time. But still no one else can call on its power during that time unless they are a recognized extension of the owner such as you are with your master. You cannot kill and owner in order to get the power of the token." She elaborated further.

"But can they be moved during that time?" I asked suspecting this was important.

"Yes I suppose so." Maeve replied. "Normally the token locks onto the life force of the owner and through its own inherent abilities will stay in close proximity with its owner." That explained how mine had reappeared in my room this morning when it had disappeared or likely fallen into the snow when my close evaporated.

"But if the owner were dead the token would once again be able to be moved by a third party in order to find its true owner." In essence it would return to a neutral state for transport like when the yeti was carrying the one that was now mine. Yep that made me even more certain I was on the right track about a lot of things.

"Okay for the most part you cannot buy one, sell it, trade it, kill for it, or steal a token is that correct?" I asked wanting to confirm that I was right in my understanding before moving onto the most important part of this meeting. Maeve seemed to desire this as well.

"That is true Emissary." Maeve said. "And all this is a waste of my time. The Emissary of Summer could have explained all of this to you as she has held one for most of her life. I warned you not to try my patience with questions beneath me." Her eyes started to flash with annoyance but thankfully she was not yet up to the point of wanting me dead, or so I hoped.

"Those were merely to ensure for all we have a common baseline of understanding Lady of Winter." I said adding just a little supplication to my voice. Not enough to tell her I submit myself to her will or that she had me afraid, only enough to render her respect and temper her anger just a bit.

"Then what do you really want to know?" She asked me with a little bit of intrigue in her voice.

"I need to know about those you have given tokens to." I said in quick response.

"That is completely out of the question." Maeve replied. "Even if I had such a list I am not about to share it."

"Come on Maeve." I said with a skeptical eye and clued onto the vagueness of her reply. "You are too crafty not to know everyone Winter owes a favor to. You might be called upon to fulfill it's obligation so it's in your interest to have such a list."

"Even so I will not reveal this before an agent of Summer." Maeve said looking at Elaine.

I guess this made sense because if Summer knew all those who could lay a claim on Winter and was able to offer these mortals significant bribes to use these favors in a way to give Summer an advantage in their eternal struggles Winter would be harmed irrevocably. In that way those carrying a token of the Faerie Courts were either liabilities or spies and neither offered any advantage by being exposed.

"I do not want the list I merely want to ask you to answer a few questions based upon what you know of the list." I said trying to thread the needle in order to prevent a war.

"I will consider your questions but my loyalty to the Winter Court still holds preeminence over any obligation I have to answer your questions Emissary." She warned me. I merely nodded in response to this advisement.

"I will also restrict my questions to what I believe are at best former agents in your employ so as to not cause your court any potential future hardship." I said trying to appease and explain that I understood her underlying concerns.

"It is _our_ court Emissary." Maeve said. "When you took up the pin and were accepted by the Queen you aligned yourselves with us until the terms of that contract are fulfilled. Never forget that for I assure you that we do not." She explained making sure I understood that I was tied into these events now as fully as she was and any repercussions created for Winter would be felt by me as well. "However, your restrictions on the subject at hand seem to be reasonable and acceptable."

"Did you have a mortal chef in your employ who has died in the past week?" I asked trying to phrase the question in such a way as to protect the court, my court, from revealing if any are currently employed.

Maeve laughed in response. "No." She said simple and I thought she was finished with that answer but she continued on after an additional shake of her head. "What use would the Winter Court have for such soft and petty weakness? We prefer to demonstrate our strength and leave weak things like honoring chefs for Summer to indulge itself in with their silly banquets and dances." She answered me but the insult had been leveled straight at the Summer Emissary.

I turned to look at Elaine and saw her seethe under this attack but her eyes turned away from Maeve and toward me. I cocked my head in such a way as to see if this answer was deemed acceptable to her and while it took a moment for her anger to dissipate, eventually Elaine caught onto my silent question and nodded her head just once and slowly enough to say she had heard all she needed to. But that did not mean I was ready to quit questioning just yet. I'm pretty sure I could get another puzzle piece in place if Maeve was willing to answer a few more questions.

"But you did give a token to James Marteen the figure skater didn't you?" I asked.

Maeve's eyes flashed at me past warning and directly into anger. "I will not talk about who may or may not have been given a token." I'm certain I was right up at the edge of what Maeve was willing to accept from me so that made the next thing I had to tell her even more dangerous.

"I did not break any trusts Maeve." I said trying not to enrage her any further. "Jimmy Marteen is dead."

"WHAT?"

"He is dead." I replied calmly again. "Whatever killed your yeti delivery man also killed him at least a day or so before that."

The look of anger on Maeve's face, no longer directed at me since she was experienced enough not to shoot the messenger, now boiled into pure seething rage. I understood these implications for what they truly were at once, thanks in part to my ability to read emotions. The Lady of Winter was not angered that one of their Court's agents had been killed, she was too cold for that; pardon the pun. Maeve was fuming like a spoiled child obviously because charming and handsome Jimmy Marteen had been her lover, or at least a special play toy to amuse her. Now that toy was no more.

The fury of the storm around us began to intensify in response to her emotions so I had to scream above the howling winds for her to hear me. "Maeve, when we last met you had said not all the Winter tokens were accounted for. You were talking about Jimmy's weren't you?"

She raised her hand to the sky and lightning flashed among the clouds. If you have never heard lightning in the middle of a snowstorm then let me tell you that the echo it makes is even worse than during a rainstorm. Maeve's eyes turned toward me again in response to my question. "Yes." She said screaming with the storm. "I selected him to be the champion of your Winter Olympics. Who is better suited than I to select the one to wear such a title of Champion of Winter?"

I could not help myself from backing up a little bit while her fury and pain intensified around us. If I ever doubted what Harry said about how emotions can fuel magic and cause unforeseen consequences I had more than ample evidence playing out in front of me.

"Winter Emissary, tell me who in Summer did this?" Maeve asked, well alright demanded of me." She stared past me at Elaine with undisguised hatred of her connection to her rivals.

"I do not know yet." I said honestly. While I think I had pieced together a lot of the story, this was one area that I could not honestly offer a guess with. I especially would not offer up anyone I suspected to Maeve while she had a look of murder in her eyes.

"You will find for me the one responsible Emissary." Maeve said. "You will find them and wreak my vengeance upon their body or if they are beyond your ability to do so you will call upon me so that I might do the same." Her words were so commanding that I dared do nothing but merely nod and accept the task placed upon me.

"What else do you require?" She asked me barely able to still think rationally.

I was about to respond with 'nothing' in order to get us safely away from this barely contained walking death sentence, truly Hell hath no fury like a women harmed, when what I had learned so far clicked a little more into place. There was one thing that might be handy.

"Only one last thing I require Lady of Winter." I said reverting to my formal and respectful tone. "Can you provide me a general map of the Fae lands in the Nevernever?"

She looked at me barely in control of her rage and then called forth the yeti that had carried my announcement. I expected her to order it to retrieve such an item for us but Maeve was much more primal than that at the moment. Instead she spun the eight foot beast that towered two foot and three times her weight around so its back was to her and with nothing but her bare hands and a bit of magic to back them up ripped the pelt off its back.

The yeti screamed in agony and fell to the ground spewing blood across the snow but Maeve gave it no more consideration. Instead through magic she held the four foot by four foot piece of hairy skin up before her as her hands drew upon the flesh with cold, dark, and evil magic that I was nearly overwhelmed with just by standing in its presence. Once completed, she rolled it up like a small rug and tossed it to me and I stumbled to catch it.

"Our business here is through Emissary." She said dismissing me. "Call not upon me again until you have accomplished your tasks or so I may stoke my vengeance upon the one responsible for my champion's death." I merely nodded and she was off with a flash of black light, that is if black light can actually flash. I guess I will have to ask Harry what the proper word for when this happens.

I signaled to Daniel and Elaine that we were through here and we backed up slowly through the portal behind us. Before I left I noted the remaining yetis had come forward at Maeve's departure with hatred and hunger in their eyes and they were staring at us. They had obviously sensed their Lady's displeasure and been fueled by these emotions as well.

As I stepped back through the portal I watched them turn upon their stricken number still lying in the snow and began to feast on him while its movements proclaimed that he was still alive, at least for the moment. As I said only the harshest, strongest, and most dangerous things survive long in the Winter Court.

I sent Daniel to go flag us down another cab figuring this would give Elaine a chance to make any remaining arguments or back out before we went into the next step of my plan. To her credit she did not do either even though the increasing chance that I could be right about what all was going on was not easy for her to accept.

"Can I count on you?" I asked Elaine. The irony that Elaine's history of actions hardly ever made anyone want to trust her and that I had hardly given her any hint that I ever planned to anyway was not lost on either of us.

She thought about that for a moment. "My goal remains to remove my indentured servitude to the Summer Court." Elaine explained. I understood her concern based on her thrall history. The fact that I had just agreed to a new tasks to serve as Maeve's agent of vengeance had also scared Elaine but since I was fairly certain these events were directly related I did not spend a lot of time beating myself up over this slip up. "Providing I can free myself you have my support."

By the time we made it around to the front of the building Daniel had a cab waiting and was packing his bag in the trunk while waiting for us. I did the same and we all piled in once more as I gave the cabbie our destination at the Science and Technology Museum. I really would buy a season pass to this place based on the number of times lately I've had to go there but since lately these have all been after hours I really do not see what good it would do me.

We unloaded again and I led the pair around to the back. I figured sooner or later the museum was going to get wise to my break in point and sure enough they had, which was rather unfortunate for them. The back door was standing propped open this time because a pile of clothes had been jammed under the open door. On closer examination I was able to see it was actually the skin and bones of a new night watchman, sucked dry like the others we had found. I'd say this was a surprise but in reality it wasn't. Daniel looked in shock but Elaine and I signaled for him to come with us and be ready.

All the museum's lights were on and there was no attempt at stealth or anything obviously hiding in the corners. We made our way along the shortest path to our destination; like I said I have been here a lot lately and pretty much know the best way to get anywhere in either light or total darkness.

"So this other portal is really in the Fairy Castle? Isn't that just a little obvious?" Daniel whispered to Elaine as we came around the last corner.

Master Rupert Highpelt stood in the middle of the hallway obviously awaiting us. Five cases of bang sticks lay to his right, nearly fifty to a case pointing upward in their gun case like stands. Also two large foot lockers worth of horseshoes lay to his left. I guess he had not gotten his secret shipment out after all.

"I was told if the opportunity presented itself I was to inform you that as of this moment this portal is now known as 'Fairy Castling.' The little solid dwarf smiled wickedly at the three of us.

"You had me baffled at first with the whole looking like a dwarf thing." I said. "That really was a smart way to hide your true identity."

"I have done similar in the past." He replied. "But since you seem to know me what gave my identity away?"

"First it was the death of your other apprentices. That gave me some idea you were more than you seemed. But mostly even though I had not read the book in a while but my brother gave me the vital clue though it took me time to recognize it." I said thinking not of Daniel but rather of Little Harry. "Nice play on names Master Rupert Highpelt… or as children around the world know you… Rumplestiltskin." I said revealing his true identity.

"Touche'" He replied. In little more than an instant he was no longer a dwarf but a ten foot spider, obviously still sporting injuries from our earlier encounter so that gave me a little boost to my confidence though there had been four of us able to fight then. I was impressed that a four hundred year old fairy tale that spoke of a dwarf like creature who spun hay into gold was not really all that far from the reality of a dwarf imitating creature that was actually a spider. I only wondered if we would live long enough to tell anyone else.


	18. Chapter 18

**Semper Fidelis**

**_Chapter 18_**

"Well I have to say that is something you do not see every day." Daniel said aloud in part to relieve his own nervousness at seeing his former master whom he had a moment ago towered over now transformed into the very spider-thing that had almost killed him. Got to give my brother credit he did not run away like most people would have. He merely put his bag down and opened it up quickly as if to retrieve a few items.

"Ummm about that Daniel." I said as I began to move away from him. "Actually for a wizard this pretty much is a good representation of what we see every day." I joked as well to calm my partners further and began circling to my left while Elaine moved to her right. Neither of us had forgotten about those magic deflecting mandibles our opponent sported so based on this morning's results with our magic if we wanted to be at all successful with spells we needed to stay as far apart as possible.

"So explain to me again then why being a wizard is such a great career choice?" He asked as I heard him clicking something familiar inside of the big gym bag while looking over his shoulder at the spider. I could not take the time to check out what Daniel was up to because I needed to keep my own focus on our opponent while I came up with a reasonable plan of attack. Our only chance as I reckoned it was for us to hit it hard and fast and not give it the chance to do the same to us. And for Elaine and I that meant we had to do so in ways it was not able to reflect back at us.

I watched the spider crouch knowing it was getting ready to attack so I used Daniel's question as a segue for my magic. "Well because it is so cool. Infriga!" I commanded Using my hand holding the Winter token up at the spider and making it turn in my direction first to counter the spell it sensed that I had cast.

Had my spell been a regular attack like a blast of fire or bolt of lightning, I had little doubt Stiltskin would have grabbed it and flung it right back at one of us. But because I had seen that trick already and knew it was a problem I had spent some time while waiting for Daniel and Elaine to arrive going over other spell options Harry had shown me to figure out ways to hurt or hamper this thing and avoid his reflection ability.

Therefore the one I cast did not fly from my hand straight to attack the beast, in fact my motions had been mostly for show to get the creature's attention on me and throw off its own plans. Instead my mind had actually pictured the spell effect for me which was roughly a twenty foot circle with the hairy beast at its center. The magic I cast infused this area and suddenly drew away all the heat, making the heavy moisture in the air suddenly condense and form a thin layer of icy frost on the already slick marble floors.

Using the Winter token as an additional focus had been magical inspiration at the last second that I had not thought about beforehand. I guess some part of me realized that if I was going to cast cold-based magic then holding the token would certainly not hurt my efforts. As it turned out it actually enhanced the spell's effect rather greatly through its own inherent magic and seemed to also better focus and control the resulting magic within the defined area my mind had selected.

This was the first time I'd ever used a well crafted focus designed to support a spell I had cast. I knew Harry had both his staff and blasting rod for such things and seen what he was capable with them. I now saw what an advantage of control and power these items provided. I had to get something like this for myself.

I had hoped at best to make a frosty floor to slow the spider down but with this focus its natural cold enhancing capabilities, the token changed that layer of thin frost to an inch or more thickness of instant sheer ice. In fact the spell created an area so cold and so fast that the spider's flesh at the end of its legs actually began to stick to the floor and he had to focus upon yanking each of them out quickly in a rather odd looking dance to prevent the ice from trapping him in place. Even with this he still left parts of himself, mostly hair clumps it appeared, in a few spots where he had not moved fast enough. I sensed his pain in this and having experienced hair waxing for myself I had no sympathy for him.

The lucky thing for the three of us was that while spiders tend to be incredibly balanced creatures even on ice because of their eight legs, the one we were facing still had two of its appendages on one side unable to support its weight due to my earlier sword strike and Hisha's bone crushing blow with his staff. A spider can still balance with two of its legs on one side out of commission but when it tried to raise the others momentarily to keep them from being frozen by my spell and then put them down on slippery ice the creature lost its center of balance and came crashing down legs spread eagle and its body upon two the crates of horseshoes.

Elaine off to the creature's opposite side chose this moment of advantage to release her spell of lightning through her flail directly at the monster since it was unable to scramble around to face her. She had been aiming for another of the remaining legs on the injured side as well but the creature's fall threw off her aim and the bolt instead slammed into its body just behind the head and exited out through the iron horseshoes it was not lying upon. Rupert screamed again in high pitched pain as he thrashed upon the floor.

"Fire in the hole!" Daniel called out as he tossed two objects at the temporarily prone spider. My eyes flickered to the black and yellow cylindrical canisters that had duct tape holding something with a burning fuse along the sides of each. The pair landed and rolled within three feet of the spider's head as it scrambled shakily to get up from the combination of the electrical attack and the icy floor. Only at the last second did its eyes seem to realize this threat for what it was and attempted to bat the canisters away; a motion that spider legs were not meant to perform.

The two cans of pressurized raid bug spray had been a slick idea on Daniel's part. Taping an M-80 firecracker to each in order to make them a chemical grenade for use against the very creature that had wounded him this morning was an act of total genius. Since this had not required any skills in algebra I guess I should not be surprised he was capable of it, or at least I was not as surprised as the former Rupert was when the cans exploded on the left side of its face sending a toxic cloud of liquid particles over its head and body. I do not know what exactly was in those cans but the smell at a distance was horrible for me. From the reaction of the spider it was even worse lying in the middle of it.

The spider flexed and launched itself to the side and slightly forward, not in an attack but to get itself clear of the killing zone we had inadvertently created for it. In the process it conveniently dodged the next hurry up bolt Elaine had fired toward it that slammed into the wall instead. Probably partly blind from the chemicals it still misjudged the distance and therefore smashed itself against the wall and fell to the ground almost crushing me in the process had I not flung myself out of the way of its crash landing in time.

Well this now severely compromised our improvised but effective battle tactics. I had been readying another blast of ice to knock him down again but the spider was just too close for that now. Daniel and Elaine could not attack in the same means either without fear of hitting me. And worst of all while we had obviously hurt the thing with a series of our most effective blows it showed no signs of being ready to roll over and die anytime soon. Where the hell was the spell for a giant rolled up newspaper to whack it with?

I yanked my sword quickly free again and whipped it out in front of me just as Rupert made a half hearted and unbalanced lunge with his mandibles in my direction hoping for a lucky shot of his own. Up close I could see that the eyes on the left side of the creature's face were highly damaged and this threw its aim off enough so that the mandibles instead closed upon empty space right beside me. It would not take long for experience to correct its depth perception problems however.

As I backed up further with a yelp of surprise I defensively swung the blade in my hand toward its head aiming for the blinded side. It still sensed the attack, stupid spider-man spider sense, and swung its head around to block my stroke from cutting into its already cloudy eyes. So instead my blade crashed against its left mandible, its own natural sword blade, and sheered half its length off with only a little resistance. I was happily surprised by this result and used the resulting moment of fresh pain the spider felt to retreat as fast as I could backwards so not to get into my partners' line of fire..

"Elaine hit it hard!" I said looking to make sure either the spider or her attack was not going to catch me.

Thankfully the spider still sensed her build up of magic and found that to be the more important threat than chasing me so it turned and faced her just as she released her next charge of magical electricity toward the creature. Had it been a normal spider, even a normal ten foot tall spider like the ones we had faced in Undertown, then the spell would have slammed into it and hopefully severely wounded or maybe even killed it. Of course nothing in my life is all that simple.

Even missing a significant part of its left mandible the spider still caught the spell with only its right and sent it immediately flying right back at Elaine. She scrambled out of the way even rolling to the ground in order to avoid being tagged. It was obvious that our early successful momentum was shifting away from favoring us. I had seen what had happened this morning when Rupert had the time to focus upon any one of us and knew that was the recipe for disaster. We had to keep it off balance in order to keep hitting it but to do that first we would need a moment to regroup.

I pulled magic into me and threw my hand out at the spider. "Rave!" I said releasing a dozen balls of colored lights at its face and making it swing its remaining mandible and eyes in my direction to catch this next potential attack. But again this was not cast as an actual attack to harm nor did it even reach him. Instead it was merely used as a burst of fireworks as all twelve balls exploded in sparks and dazzling light before ever reaching the creature. This was not as effective as the ice had been at slowing him down but it did stun his sense enough to have him staggering off balance away from me and back slightly towards the patch of ice.

"Dammit my lighter won't work!" Daniel cried in frustration as I noted he had two glass Coke bottles, the really old glass kind, filled with what might have been gasoline and a rag in the top of each. They were duct taped really tightly to a third two liter Diet Coke bottle that appeared filled with what might have actually been Coke of all things. With all the magic we had flying around I'm hardly surprised that even the technology of a Bic lighter had failed.

"I got it!" I said and flung a little magic his way. "_Flickum bicus._" I called out and the ends of both rags burst into flames. This surprised Daniel but he had the sense of mind to continue what he needed to do and not stare dumbly at it as the rags burned.

He took the unscrewed cap off the two liter bottle and dropped a while tablet of some sort into the cap before twisting it back on fast and sliding the entire contraption away from him and under the spider. Whatever he put in the Diet Coke bottle reacted instantly and violently with the soda and it expanded and exploded before it even came to a rest doing the same to the two glass bottles of gasoline taped to it.

The underbody of the spider was suddenly doused in a mixture of Diet Coke, plastic and glass particles, and what I figured out a moment later was homemade napalm that had been in the glass bottles. This flaming tar like substance now clung to the spider's fur and burned with a wicked blue flame causing the creature even more pain.

"A gift from Coke and Mentos! The Freshmaker!" Daniel laughed explaining to me what the little white pill had been. Unfortunately though I guess he had emptied his bag of tricks. He was down to pulling out the three foot iron crowbar and cocking it back like a baseball bat ready to swing.

Now even with someone as buff as my brother holding an object as solid as a crowbar the basic laws of physics still apply. While Daniel might be able to apply a strong swing of force and perhaps even break another of the creature's legs, he would likely end up doing very little damage overall in comparison to the mass of the creature he was battling. A two year old hitting their parent with a stick might get in a lucky blow, which will land them inevitably on America's Funniest Home Videos, but for every one of those lucky swings the law of averages said there would be hundred if not thousands of much less successful attacks. Therefore before he converted his idea into action I changed him from his course.

"Daniel we are not here to kill this thing." I screamed drawing his full attention. "We only need to get past it and through the gate. Go around it and into the Fairy Castle and we will follow you. He will have to change back to his dwarf mode if he wants to keep up the fight."

What I had going for me to balance out Daniel's natural resistance to listening to his older sister or leaving her in the middle of a fight is that I obviously knew more about fighting these kinds of things than he did and what I said made sense on the face of it. It also did not hurt that I sent subtle emotions of trust in his direction to manipulate him a bit into doing just what I said. He only delayed for a moment before nodding and scampering off around Elaine to get into the fake castle's entrance. I meanwhile reversed my own course somewhat since now Elaine and I needed to be as far apart as the room allowed to keep it from herding us together and killing us.

Elaine had thankfully made it to her feet once more and was again spinning the flail around like it was an extension of her. For not originally wanting the weapon I was glad to see she had gotten use to it when we needed its power.

Rupert had shaken off my Rave attack, I decided right then and there that was what I was going to call it, and while the burning remains of napalm on his fur and skin was obviously still painful he turned his remaining beady eyes to regard the two of us trying to sense which one of us to take down first.

"Elaine load up everything you got for the next shot at my command." I said and saw her nod in confirmation as she spun the flail even faster make the runes on it glow brightly.

I also drew as much magic into myself as possible straining and even pushing past all the limits I had ever handled before for a single spell. Being a sensitive wizard I knew that even this was nowhere near the power that Harry could toss about without even trying hard and was at best half the strength of what Elaine had at her disposal right now as well. Spell envy is a common psychological problem among wizards.

The bad news is that Rupert was every bit as sensitive about this as me and turned to face Elaine fully on as she represented the greater threat to him. Her spell could certainly hurt him, probably not kill him, but still it could cause the spider some very serious damage therefore it could not ignore her. On the other hand I had proven I could merely sting it at best. Since it knew this as well it chose to ignore me which I must say absolutely pissed me off for being thought of as irrelevant. And I have found out I come up with my best, least expected, and some would say most insane and desperate plans when I'm pissed off like this.

"Fire your spell Elaine right now!" I said noting the spider set itself for the attack as I extending my arm as I called up my own spell right on the heels of my words. "Shoot right at me!"

Elaine for her part did not even delay but fired off what was the scariest bolt of lightning I had seen her throw yet. You know how sometimes time seems to slow down like in a car accident and you seem to pick up little details? Yeah well lightning moves even faster than that and all my highly alert combat senses picked up was a blinding flash and then the sudden feeling that I was flying backwards through the air. I did have a moment to doubt if this was my best plan ever.

But for those who were not a perky wizard performing an insane attempt at beating what was proving to be an unbeatable spider creature they would have seen Elaine's bolt of lightning flying straight at me outside the mandible grasp of Rupert so he could not catch and fling it back. And then less than a foot from my body the electrical charge was diverted by the magical shield created by my bracelet, a trick experienced this morning, which I had shaped in such as way as to bank Elaine's spell like a cue ball almost directly back under the spider before it exploded.

Rupert had been right to fear her spell more than mine because the mere fraction of force that I had not been able to divert was enough to send my body flying. The vast remainder of that spell was enough to do the same for the spider, lifting it off the ground and even flipping it over to land on its back. Yet even this mighty blow would not have killed it had Rupert not had the misfortune of landing directly upon his racks of two hundred and fifty bang sticks, all of which I was happy to note had already been loaded for efficiency.

When I had put this mad idea together I was hoping merely for these objects to serve as a sort of cactus spines, the cold iron likely causing the spider a tremendous amount of grief in the process not to mention destroying these weapons as well. I guess you can consider it along the lines of combat acupuncture.

The fact that they were already loaded took this idea one step further and set the room echoing with what was collectively the equivalent of a burst of cannon fire. The carrying cases of wood designed to prevent these weapons from accidentally going off if they were dropped while being transported had obviously not taken into account the effect of a half ton spider carapace landing upon them. I'd say I'm sorry for this result but really I'm not.

I crashed against the wall and slid to the ground only an instant before the muffled explosion suddenly sent parts of spider guts flying in all directions to paint the ceiling, walls, and floor, as well as Elaine and I. The funny thing is that believe it or not this was not the most disgusting thing I have ever been covered in during my time as an apprentice. Harry and I had an even worse encounter with a slime golem once. What can I say I lead a rather exciting, if not at times totally disgusting, life.

Elaine was also covered in what I will kindly refer to from now on as goop and was not smiling at me for our victory. Some people are just so hard to please. As far as I figured it this probably completely cured her of her spider phobia but then again may have in the process made her now an obsessive compulsive neatness freak by the way she was glaring at me as she tried wiping the 'goop' out of her hair and off her clothing.

I smiled weakly as I found my feet and sword and headed over to the remains of the former master Rupert Highpelt. "Hey it could have been worse." I tried to smile. "Has Harry ever told you about the time we did battle with a slime golem?" Yeah Elaine is one of those glass half-empty people it seems because she did not respond to my comment; unless you consider counting to twenty in your head a means of responding.

Now some of you may find what I did next to be a bit odd and even a little bit disgusting; which considering what I was currently covered in I have to admit is almost SplatterCon award worthy then. I went over to the remains of Rupert's spider body and with a precise flick of my wrist sheared off half of the spider's right mandible as well before gathering it and the left one up and putting it into my pack.

Using the Winter token to cast a cold spell had shown me how much power and control a focus provides to a wizard. Harry had both his blasting rod and staff, each made from a lightning struck, fire burned, ancient oak tree at Wizard McCoy's home. Since Harry was a traditional wizard who was big on blasts and destruction this source was absolutely perfect for his kind of spells. But nymphs aside, trees are just not sensitive and therefore not all that much help as a focus for my brand of magic.

Now on the other hand I had just personally observed the late Rupert here use these mandibles to catch, hold, and fling magic. I also observed that he could sense when either Elaine or I drew power so that meant he was more closely attuned to my types of magical abilities. Finally, I knew some wizards had made wands from animal bones or ivory tusks before so I figured it was worth a shot to see if I could do the same with its mandibles. I figured if it did not work then I still had a pair of really cool trophies.

Daniel came back into the room holding the crowbar still and smiling as only boys seem to know how and the sheer destruction our battle had caused. Okay most of it was me but still. I wondered how the cleaning crew would explain the combination of guts, napalm, shattered bang sticks, and bug poison residue. I figured terrorists most likely, they were a convenient catch all these days. But I'd have to ask Murphy for a copy of the report so I could see how they explained the horseshoes.

"Look who I found." Daniel said with obvious pride making both Elaine and I look away from cleaning goop off of our bodies and at the nine foot tall being who stepped out of the shadowed doorway behind my brother. Castling! I should have known!

"Daniel move away!" I ordered raising my hand but the troll's own arms reached down and grabbed my brother around the back of the neck with one giant paw, and pinned his arms holding the crowbar with the other. Lord Kline then seemingly without effort lifted Daniel and placed him as a kicking and grunting human shield between his own body and both Elaine and I. Any spell we cast would now have to go through Daniel as well.

"Castling huh?" I said squaring off and looking at Lord Kline with undisguised animosity.

"Indeed." He said with a nod toward the remains of the spider. "It is a move in chess where the player swaps the rook and king in order to sacrifice the lesser piece to protect the more valuable."

"Well it looks like you lost your rook." I said trying to provoke his anger and get him to make a mistake.

"He was sacrificed for a good cause." Lord Kline replied not rising to the bait. "Besides he was also found to be totally unreliable. He was making moves that I did not authorize and thereby jeopardizing the game I was playing. Had he not killed those working for him or left those bodies in the tunnels that we found then I doubt you would have figured out he had been behind the murders in the first place. Hiring your brother though was totally reckless and proved fatal for him. He got sloppy and had to be killed. So I thank you for accomplishing this action for me."

"You know I'd be happy to make it a two-for-one." I said. "You know like in the movies where the hero, that would be me, defies the odds and takes down the mastermind behind the scenes?"

"Yes but I'm afraid this is one of those situations of where life does not imitate art." Lord Kline replied. "I seriously doubt that after nearly killing yourself to save your brother's life this morning you would be so willing to sacrifice him now. So why don't we act civilized toward one another. Put down your weapons and swear upon your wizard oaths that you shall invoke no magic against me for twenty four hours and I will likewise agree at the end of that time to set all three of you free without any further conditions or harm." He offered with seeming sincerity.

The fact that he wanted wizard oaths sworn upon our magic was a perfect means to ensure we could not attack him for a full day at least. If we did, at a minimum we would lose our ability to cast spells for potentially the rest of our lives. Harry had said some wizards who violated an oath of this nature had even been struck dead for doing so. But still the idea of providing Lord Kline with safe passage after all he had done did not sit well with me.

"Come now you really have no choice in the matter." Lord Kline said shaking my brother slightly for emphasis. I knew he could do so just a lttle harder and break my brother's neck. "I will even throw in that old fool Hisha for good measure to sweeten the pot for you. You must admit that these two lives are a reasonable deal for a mere twenty four hours of my own life."

I looked at Elaine and could tell she was ready to fight if required but that the battle with the spider had taken a lot out of her and she would be far from her best. Not that I was in any better shape mind you. Being slammed into a wall tends to hurt after the adrenaline runs out and the pain reminds you of this abuse. She looked at me with a stare that communicated "It's up to you Molly" without saying anything.

I flexed my hand on the grip of my sword looking at its blade with still a trace of spider blood on it and then back to the troll. The hardest part of having faith was to know when you were doing the right thing and when you had gone off the reservation. In this case I saw no way out of this situation without losing my brother. While I knew that one life against many did not seem to make much of a contest, this was my brother Daniel, someone my magic had inadvertently hurt before. I could not consciously do that to him again when I had the ability to prevent it.

I tossed the sword down to the ground in front of me. "You have a deal and my word that I will not cast magic upon you or seek to do physical harm to you through its use for the next twenty four hours." I said in resignation and shook off and tossed the scabbard over next to the sword as well. My backpack came off my shoulder, placed down at my feet, and gently nudged in that direction as well.

Elaine watched me but realized now the best she could hope to do is flee. In fact I half expected her to do just that based upon the conflicting emotions running through her at this time. But with another glance at me she did likewise, tossing the flail to the ground and making her own oath not to use magic against the troll for the next full day. I could see this action galled her but I actually had respect that for the first time in her life Elaine had not merely run away when the going got tough.

"How incredibly civilized that is of the both of you." Lord Kline said placing Daniel on his feet once more but stripping him of the crowbar in the process and tossing it with the small pile of our gear. "You know this really is for the best and better than I hoped for when I created these plans. Had this been your master, the great wizard Harry Dresden, then I'm afraid a needless battle would have most likely ensued when there really is no point in that since it could not change other events taking place anyway."

Lord Kline gathered our gear together and placed it all in my brother's gym bag while we watched and did nothing. I could see Daniel considering his odds of wrestling with the much bigger troll but common sense won out. There was just no way he could take him.

Once he had it all collected and slung it over his shoulder Lord Kline pointed toward the door of Fairy Castle. "If you would be so kind I believe we should go join your friend Hisha before he tries something brash or heroically stupid. Besides I do not think it will be wise for any of us to be here when the morning staff gets to work. I would be written off as a figment of a stressed out imagination but I believe you three would likely be facing a series of murder charges or at least some very uncomfortable questioning periods."

We walked ahead of him and while he was not preventing us from running off, in truth we really had no place to go. There was probably one defining major difference between Elaine and I which was at the heart of why I did not like her much. When faced with overwhelming odds, up until now, Elaine folded under the pressure. She was like a dog that when facing another put its tail between its legs. She would run if she could and if that was not possible she became as beta female as they come. Had he demanded it I'm sure she would have rolled over and showed Lord Kline her belly for him to scratch in submission.

As for me on the other hand I have too much self pride for this type of response and that natural tendency tends to just get me into a lot of trouble. I understood that there were times when running was the better option and I certainly did not spit in the eye of everything stronger than me just because I could. But the difference between Elaine and I is that I thought about spitting in the eye as my act of defiance even if I did not do it. This idea never even crossed Elaine's mind. And for that I could not help but feel both rage and pity at her as I came to understand her.

At the moment though, I had a far better target for the anger that I was feeling about my current impotence. "If Harry were in my place you know he would have killed you." I said turning to look back at Lord Kline. "You do know that right?" I asked trying to shake his confidence. I had promised not to use magic against the smug bastard but I'd be damned if I was going to be all charm for his extended day of tea time.

"That is certainly a strong probability especially based upon his reputation." Lord Kline said. "But had it been him and not you who had been selected as the Winter Emissary these events would not have unfolded as they did. In fact the whole purpose of my planning was to keep your good master too busy to focus upon what was happening between the Faerie Courts. Had he been the one to see the body of the ice skater instead of you he would have spent an equal time on trying to solve that mystery thereby not focusing upon the real issues at play until it was too late for him to do anything about them. Plus the fact he is close to the Summer Lady and Knight would have taken away his perspective and made him emotional and easier to manipulate than you were my dear."

We arrived at the crossover point between our world and the lands of Summer. He paused and looked expectantly at Elaine. "My dear I can open the pathway myself with my Wyldfae token if I must but surely you will not force this type of petty inconvenience for me when you possess the Summer's Emissary token by which to do this at no expense to yourself?" He asked kindly in his fatherly type voice and Elaine merely nodded and pressed her token up against the wall now that we knew was a portal to the lands of Summer.

The gateway opened and we stepped though to find four single cages lying in a line, one of which, the furthest away from where we were standing, was already occupied by a familiar orange robed monk who sat upon a simple cot and seemed deep in his meditations until we arrived. His eyes opened up at that moment and looked at each of us until he came to me and offered me a little wink and a smile before returning to his relaxed pose once more.

Across from each cage was a small table upon each of which sat a chessboard with all the pieces standing ready to begin a game. There were no chairs by these tables because obviously the cages were meant for the three of us and Lord Kline did not require four chairs.

"You said nothing about locking us up in cages." I said noting the look of panic from Elaine.

"That is true but an unfortunate precaution I shall require to ensure you do not try to go sneak off." Lord Kline replied. "I have already given you my oath not to harm you. I am merely afraid you might get it into your heads to all run in separate directions and make me have to chase you. Surely you can understand my need for caution." He asked but Elaine seemed about on the verge of outright panic.

"Let me remind you that with your oaths in place I can force you into these cages and there is really very little you can do to me to prevent it." Lord Kline explained without a hint of malice in his voice. He then turned to look at Daniel. "And while you appear intimidating and fierce for one of your kind you should know that were we to get into fisticuffs between us my body naturally heals all wounds relatively quickly so all you would accomplish is injury to yourself and to your honor." He said politely.

Daniel and Elaine looked to me for a hint of what to do but I still had no plan. I also noted that Hisha's eyes were once again open judging me as well. I even saw him mouth a single word. "Faith." That is what Uriel had told me would be required so who was I to fight it. I stepped into the closest cage without a fight and Lord Kline closed the door and bent a cross bar of metal around it to lock the door behind me.

Daniel followed my lead into the next cage and then Elaine in the third, each of us taking a seat on our cots as we were locked in. To his credit Daniel went over to the bars after Lord Kline had walked back around to the front and tried to bend them back but he was unable to budge these.

"That is a wonderfully strong metal I believe you call titanium." Lord Kline said watching Daniel's efforts with a smile.

"It can't be." Daniel replied. "Titanium is this strong but also incredibly rare. There is no way you could have gotten your hands on enough of it from this morning in order to make these cages by this time."

"That is true my young metal working apprentice." Lord Kline said. "Rumplestiltskin said you were an incredibly naturally gifted metal worker and I see that he did not exaggerate. You are right that we could not have acquired this much titanium in time. Thankfully all I really required was braiding some strands of hay and an old fashion spinning wheel." The troll said obviously incredibly proud of his ingenuity in this."

"Ah yes Rumplestiltskin." I said catching on. "Instead of spinning straw into gold you had him spin hay into titanium."

"Exactly right." Lord Kline said looking over at Hisha. "She is indeed incredibly quick witted for one so young." He turned back to me. "I wonder my dear do you play chess?"

"Do you honestly believe that I would play a game to entertain you?" I asked.

"Why not?" He replied with his smile. "We have almost a full day to kill and the four of you are not going anywhere. Why don't we play and converse like civilized people?"

"Let me guess, this is the part where the villain explains his dastardly plan to the hero because there is no means for us to stop it." I said trying to sound casual but in truth I hoped he would.

"I admit that is actually very cliché but when one does invent a scheme of genius there is a certain desire for letting someone know the true brilliance that went into the planning." Lord Kline said. "Can you really deny that part of you would love for me to put the remaining pieces of the story together for you? I promise you there are facts running around out there of which you could not possibly be aware. These would be enlightening for you and your master, wherever he is."

"And you will willingly share these with us?" I asked not believing a word of this. "Aren't you sworn to silence?"

"Egad no." Lord Kline replied. "To use the vernacular of your times these events are a resume builder for me. Once they come to fruition I intend for them to be circulated far and wide because those who might take offense will no longer be in a position to do so. My intellect will ensure my name forever written among the immortals of our world."

Lord Kline certainly was not lacking for confidence and from where I was sitting, which presently was a titanium locked cage, he had every right to be. But like I said I did not have to like it. And maybe just maybe I could use his confidence to my own advantage thinking of my only remaining bargaining chip. Hell as far as I could see it could not possibly hurt.

"Tell you what let me offer a cliché for a cliché." I said. "Are you interested in talking a deal?"

"You have my undivided attention my dear." He smiled at me. "We seem to have nothing but time."

"You are obviously the better chess player." I said with frank honesty to which he merely bowed his head in acknowledgement. "You have been beating Hisha for hundreds of years straight. You beat Elaine this morning in less than ten moves…"

"Six actually." He interrupted.

"…okay six." I agreed. "You probably have already made judgments of the strategic skills my brother and I as well and realize we rate hardly a challenge to your experience. Am I correct?"

"There is an off chance one or the other of you is an undiscovered chess protégé but no from what I have learned I do not expect either of you to be a serious challenge of my skills." Lord Kline agreed and motioning for me to proceed.

"Then let's play the cliché out all the way." I offered with a smile of my own. "You play all four of us…at the same time...and tell us your brilliant plan as you obviously desire to." I said peaking the troll's obvious interest. "However, if any one of the four of us wins, then you must allow all four of us to go free immediately rather than twenty four hours from now."

"Ah for a moment there I thought you actually were on to something. I very much was intrigued by the four concurrent games as a test of my intellect." Lord Kline said. "And it's not that I really fear losing to you that makes me hesitant. Rather it is sloppy work for the master villain as you call me to take such a needless risk while I just sit back and pet my white cat and you destroy everything I have worked for. I'm afraid if word leaked out that I entertained such an offer without cause it would taint my grand plan." He shook his head. "I'm sorry but that is not really an acceptable deal."

"I thought you might think that." I responded with my own smile. "Well we could just skip ahead to the part where we trash you and stop your whole mad scheme without this challenge." I laugh back at him.

"You have already made your oath Molly." Lord Kline said. "It is impossible for you to 'trash me' as you so quaintly put it."

"That is true; of me only though." I replied as I showed him my Winter token. "But see Lady Maeve is really pissed about who killed her play toy. In fact she charged me to find out and exact justice for her. And if I was unable to do so, I was to use this to token to call upon her and she would do so herself at once."

"You are bluffing. You have had no further dealings with the Lady of Winter." Lord Kline said though not nearly as confidently as he had sounded a moment ago.

"No really she is not." Daniel spoke up. "Maeve is pretty hot even with that whole blue green hair thing going. And I have to say she was pretty pissed when we told her someone had killed her ice skater merely to get his icicle thing." God there are moments I absolutely love my brother.

"Still it would start a war between the Faerie Courts if she came here." Lord Kline said looking for other excuses.

"Yeah but isn't that what you are trying to do anyway?" I asked. "And have you met Maeve? I mean I am pretty sure she was the inspiration for the phrase 'revenge is a dish best served cold.'"

Lord Kline thought about this. "I suppose the honest fact that Rumplestiltskin actually was the one to kill the ice skater is not all that important to you." He said.

"Maybe." I answered. "I mean from where I'm sitting he did it at your behest. Maybe she would be satisfied that we killed him." I reasoned calmly. "The question really though is the chance she would not want blood of her own something you would be willing to bet your life on?" I smiled back at him and making the troll double take. Score one intimidation point for the perky wizard apprentice!

He went over his options in silence for five minutes or so before speaking to me again. "So there are no vagueness in our negotiations what you are offering is four against one in chess. If I win you sit quietly and not inform the Lady of Winter of my role in these events during that time. If one of you four wins then I must let you go free?" He asked.

"Yeah that is pretty much it." I replied. "You can face Maeve now and not live to see if your schemes succeed or you can rely upon your skills at chess to keep all your plans on track and the Lady of Winter on the sidelines for the moment." I said.

In truth I was actually bluffing. Sure I could call Maeve and she would inflict cold, holy vengeance on the troll's body. But in the process the forces of Summer who were at high alert would undoubtedly feel her presence and the magic she expended in their lands. They would not take time to question what was going on. They would think the war had begun and respond. Queen Tatania would kill Lily and Fix and Lord Kline's ultimate plan for the two courts to go to war would happen anyway. I was still hoping to prevent this all from taking place.

The troll thought about it some more. "You truly are a wildcard in these events my dear." He said with a respectful nod of his head. "And I do not see where you have left me any choice but to accept your terms. I must ask that as a show of good faith though you swear another oath not to use that token to contact Lady Maeve in the event, the likely event…" He stressed these words. "…that all four of you lose."

"I am willing to accept that condition." I replied.

"Well then the games are already set up." Lord Kline said with a predatory smile once more on his face since he was now hunting in his most familiar and comfortable grounds. "Let us begin."


	19. Chapter 19

**Semper Fidelis**

**_Chapter 19_**

Alright for the record I am not an undiscovered chess protégé and to the best of my knowledge neither is my brother. Both Daniel and I learned how to play chess for no better reason than because our dad was a Knight of the Cross and chess boards have pieces called knights. While it was interesting for about a week to learn how to move the pieces around the board after that initial shine wore off, and coincidentally video games were invented, some that even had knights too, I doubt if either of us ever chose to play another game of chess in our lives.

Yes I know there are a lot of chess video games out there in the world, but I think of them like video language programs, or dare I say Daniel thinks of them like an algebra teaching computer program. None of which hold any interest of fun when you speak of them to the average person. And if you are the exception to this because you don't like games that go 'boom' then either you work for NASA or you better hope that virtual reality girlfriend/boyfriend industry gets off the ground soon.

Need more proof? Ever see the Chess Superbowl? Ever remember ten thousand screaming fans wearing the T-shirt of their favorite chess master? Ever see chess cheerleaders? Yeah neither did I nor has the rest of the world either.

Of course without this undiscovered skill as a card up my sleeve that meant of the four of us the only one who had a chance at beating Lord Kline in a straight up game was Hisha, and he had been running a terribly long unlucky streak in that department. All in all it really did not look like much of a chance for the home team. But as everyone kept telling me I merely had to keep faith everything would work out. Oh and if I could pull off one of Harry's little sneaky plans the enemy is never looking for so much the better though being trapped in a titanium cage and not being able to use my magic on Lord Kline severely hampered that option. But then again I have a gift for being creative when I have to and a few vague options were already floating through my thoughts hoping to become possibilities.

All that aside however, I must point out that the four chessboards sitting on the tables were some of the most beautiful works of art I had ever seen. There was little doubt that all four had been created by the same master craftsman and each depicted armies in a historical or eternal struggle with an incredible individual detail.

The board sitting before Hisha represented the Knights Templar made of delicate pieces of ivory and pearl on the white side with what had to be ruby chips making up their red tabard crosses from the way they sparkled in the light. Opposing them were the Muslim hordes of Suleiman decked out in ebony and with crescents of turquoise that gleamed equally as brilliantly. The board itself represented the walled city of Jerusalem for which both sides thought of as the crown jewel. Unlike a regular flat board this one gently and purposely rose to a graceful hump in the center of the board undoubtedly symbolizing the Temple Mount, the holiest piece of real estate in the historically war torn city of three religions.

The table before Elaine had white Roman Legions equipped in real golden breastplates and red shields and tunics. Opposite of them were the barbarian hordes, most likely the Vandals, made of amber and adorned in brown and black leathers. Their rooks were catapults and their knights were chariots. Their battlefield from above appeared to be black and white squares upon which chips of colored stones had been fused to make a mosaic that represented the European continent, or the eventual remains of such which would become the Holy Roman Empire.

The set before my brother was equally stunning and represented the Greek and the Trojan War. The pawns on both sides were stunning identical in form to show the shared cultural similarities and differed only in the shapes of the shields they carried, and of course their color. The royal pieces in the back rows represented the various Greek gods who Homer so effectively explained in the Iliad had each chosen sides as well in this war of mortals. The knights of course were each Trojan Horse representations and the board itself was ringed by a wall to symbolize the might fortress that had withstood a siege for more than seven years as the poet recorded it.

My board however, was perhaps the most beautiful of all in my eyes. My pieces were made up of gemstones of greens, blues, and whites and could be nothing else than the forces of the Winter Court from their shapes and depictions. Queen Mab represented the king on this board and Maeve her queen; the resemblance of the latter down to her multicolored dyed hair was incredible and demonstrated the artist had firsthand knowledge to create such detailed likenesses. Across from my pieces awaited those of Queen Tatania and the assembled armies of the Summer Fae. There is nothing like so blatant a reminder of just what was at stake if I did not figure out a way to get out of here soon in time to prevent this war.

I almost said since Lord Kline was playing Summer and had caused their forces such problems that it was only right that he sacrifice his queen (Lily) and a knight (Fix) and I would do the same of one of my knights for symbolic reasons but I figured he would not find the humor in that suggestion. We would do battle instead as equal and eternal opponents and see who won the day. And I would count on prayers and luck.

"So what do you think of my newly acquired collection?" Lord Kline said noting our approving stares at what were undoubtedly his prize possessions. "It seems only fair that we use them for such an important series of games does it not?" His emotions suddenly seemed back to the same warm and charming individual I had met last evening. I am no expert of troll emotions but I found this odd flip flop unnatural.

"They are indeed works of art." I could not help but admit. "I assume they all were created by the same artist? Perhaps even some dwarf or Fae craftsman by their intricate knowledge of those represented by my pieces and your own?" I asked.

"In truth they are actually early works of the Russian jeweler Faberge though they were overlaid with some unique Fae magic since then." The troll said with no attempt to hide his pride in this collection. "Chess being the national pastime of the former Russian Empire he created a series of boards and pieces for the Czar and his family. These were never as popular as those silly chicken eggs he is most notably famous for so the sets ended up scattered in various locations until I restored them to one collection once more with the help of my friend Hisha." He bowed to the imprisoned raksasha.

"You have heard my comment on them. The fact that your ally deceived me, tainted holy visions so that I would assist you by stealing them is an act you will be judged for my friend and I fear harshly. I would have thought someone so book learned and yourself would recall Dante said the Ninth Circle of Hell is reserved for those who betray God and this might have deterred you from this course." Hisha replied without moving from his lotus position. "I fear touching these tainted items shall stain my chi." He looked away from the troll to the three of us in our own cages. "You should let my words guide your chi away from this vile course of action as well."

Lord Kline looked at his ancient friend with sadness at his accusation and I sense the tumult of his emotions. There could be no actual betrayal if there had not been actual trust between the two, and his smile dipped as he recognized this loss. "Vibhishana I do not ask you to recognize the value of my actions for unlike you I have never claimed to be a creature of virtues." He said with obvious sadness. "You are a dedicated to your spiritual pursuits and have for your dedication to this worn the mantle of betrayer that your now choose to place upon me. I am dedicated to the study of strategy every bit as much as you are to the study of faith. Surely you will not deny the righteousness of my actions when seen through my lenses of perception?" While the words seemed to make sense the troll's emotions seemed at war within himself.

Hisha looked at the troll flatly. "God does not believe in your concept of moral relativism I fear my friend." The words obvious stung the troll and even set him back on his heels at being so harmed by one he obviously still considered a friend. And for a being so dedicated to looking to the long term advantage of a situation I suspected Lord Kline was now suddenly seeing aspects of what he had done that he had not considered. Obviously his ability to plan and see all aspects of a situation was not infallible. I wondered if perhaps that might be part of the key we required.

"Do not worry Hisha." Lord Kline replied almost meekly. "The magic on these boards makes unnecessary for you to touch them. You merely identify the piece you require and tell it where you want it to move and the magic of the Fae will perform the action for you." The troll explained as if this could erase the issues between them. "This ensures the players can not cheat as well." Not that I am trained in slight of hand but this information removed yet another potential avenue for pulling off an unexpected victory.

The troll's obvious pride in artistic item, especially carvings, made me think of another related subject. "You certainly know quality artistry." I said drawing the troll's attentions from his mental and emotional ramblings. "Would you by any chance know any talented artists who work with ivory or bone?" I asked figuring if I ever planned to use the mandible as a focus this is probably good information to have.

"Indeed." The troll replied with a hint of the joy contained in his former self. "The currently most gifted scrimshawer alive is an ancient Eskimo who lives in a village in the Aleutian Islands. I had him create a chess set for me a decade or so ago. It was one of my favorites until I acquired these." He said with a pass of his hand at the four sets before us. I could see the pride in ownership was struggling against his wounded moral convictions now. "I will provide you his name and location along with a letter of introduction so as to demonstrate that I harbor no ill feeling against any of you."

"You must of course understand that while sitting in this cage I look upon that claim of your benevolence with a bit of skepticism." Elaine drew his attention with her negatively charged words. I was glad to see she was rallying against the sense of helplessness that had in the past crushed her spirit. And again the troll's emotions showed a conflict taking place within.

"As I said they are merely an unfortunate and temporary necessity until the events I've set in motion reach their fruition." Lord Kline said without apology but not without regret. "No one will get hurt by the plan I put in place, well except for what you did to Rumplestiltskin, but he had that coming. Do you know he got it in his head to try and sell firearms to some agent in the Courts? That type of action would destabilize the very balance I sought to achieve! Such a move had to be stopped so I believe that between us we did the right thing." His inner turmoil seemed to conflict with his words.

The way that the troll spoke about the gunrunning being separate and unrelated to his plan made me wonder just what was truly going on here and if I really had the right picture yet. I started to get the sinking suspicion that perhaps I had approached these events all wrong from the start. I had been looking for one agent, or at least one plan, that linked all of these events. But what if they were all unrelated as the troll seemed to be indicating or at least the players did not know what the others were doing? Of course there was an immediate way to find this out for sure. I also figure that it just might also provide me with a possible means to win my match.

"Perhaps you will explain all these events like you promised while I take a moment to mentally prepare myself to beat you at your own game so to speak." I said with just a bit of a challenging smile at the troll. He caught the words and looked at me seeing not blatant defiance, but instead neutral acceptance of this course of action. Sure the situation was hardly the best it could be, but I was starting to accept the possibility of a way out of this mess if I could just make sure the others played the parts I needed them to for the next hour or so as well.

"I am look forward to your challenge." Lord Kline said respectfully though we both know he doubted anything remotely like a challenge was likely to play out here. Once more his turmoil emotions seemed to settle in. I would have to change that. "And as a gracious host I will even do as you ask and explain what has brought us here to this current condition."

I nodded my thanks and sat in the same lotus position that Hisha was currently in and gave my body the conflicting orders to relax while at the same time telling my ears to listen carefully to everything the troll said. I needed these conflicting results if anything good were to come about this plan that I was hatching.

I focused upon my chi and found that inner source of power, a bit lessened for my use of it this morning, but still bubbling strongly beneath the surface. In my mind I stepped into the heart of this power as I prepared to test my theory. "Hisha can you hear me?" I asked within my mind and waited in the silence.

"I can indeed." I heard the Raksasha's familiar voice. I had suspected that after he had led me to my chi and then also guided my healing of Daniel that this would work, but then again one never really knows with things like this until you try.

"What is the chance that you can beat Lord Kline at chess?" I asked him to explain our chances of playing by the rules.

"I suspect not." He said apologetically. "I have known the troll well for centuries now, at least I thought I knew him before this obvious betrayal." I could feel the sorrow of loss in his words. "He is more than a match for my skill or even the four of us at this game."

"Do you have any other ideas how we can affect our release?" I asked hoping the one who knew the troll best might have a means to escape our predicament.

"I am unsure now." Hisha replied. "He has through these events shown he is not the friend I thought I knew therefore I know not how much of what he showed me in the past was a lie and how much was real. The being I knew could have been reasoned with. But alas this Lord Kline is an enigma to me." He finished silently.

Disappointed but hardly surprised, I outlined the barest skeleton of a plan that I had concocted using the few resources I assumed were still available to us. Hisha listened but I could tell the old monk was anything but confident of our success. To tell the truth I was hardly ready to bet the house on it either but I was running out of options.

The roll my plan required Hisha to play did not sit well with him either but I finally garnered his agreement to this action. He also offered that if I could keep the troll's attention for a time squarely upon me, he would find a means to ensure Daniel and Elaine would play their required roles as well. Finally he showed me how to keep this link between the two of us open and running in the background of my mind without so much focus being required. That was an unexpected benefit as far as I was concerned that could prove enormously helpful if we had to change what we planned I'd be able to talk with him a little about it.

The great thing about the speed of thought is that it is instantaneous almost. My entire conversation with Hisha took instants and by its conclusion Lord Kline was just beginning his story.

"The truth is I would not have even gotten involved in these events had this all not been presented to me as a strategic mental challenge by a wizard of your own White Council." Lord Kline said looking right at me as my eyes snapped open at these words and all initial sense of relaxation fled my body barely allowing me to hold onto my chi.

"What?" I asked rocking on the cot and nearly coming to me feet? "Who are you talking about? What is their name?" I asked wondering who in the White Council would possibly want to create further friction between the Faerie Courts while out own war with the Red Court of vampires relied upon our ability to use the pathways through the Nevernever safely. Hostilities here hampered our movements of forces and played right into the Red Court's hands. Someone on the White Council then was either incredibly stupid or a potentially dangerous traitor.

"I am sorry but that identity is a confidence I am required to keep as part of our contract." He said with obvious regret though his emotions suddenly spun into complete turmoil. He then even performed the odd action of rubbing his head that I had never seen him do before when speaking as if he had a headache.

I understood at once that neither begging nor threats would reveal the identity so I hoped that maybe just what he told me about these events would lead me to the identity of the individual. "I understand." I conceded politely. "Please start again from the beginning if you do not mind." I said and focused even more on the story now and especially upon the odd reactions the troll was displaying.

"It will be as you wish." He replied calming slightly with these words. "My wizard friend and I have played chess for nearly two centuries now, and in truth he is probably one of the most accomplished players I have ever crossed pawns with." The troll said enjoying his play on words. "When he appeared on my doorstep more than a year ago he carried a brand new chessboard set, so new in fact that the dye on my own pieces had not even fully dried and left a black stain on my hands."

"While we played he mentioned a dilemma he was having. He needed to find a means to distract the Summer Court so that he could release a fellow wizard who Queen Tatania had been keeping hostage since the beginning of your war with the Red Court to ensure the White Council did not draw the Summer Court further into this war." Lord Kline continued. Harry had never mentioned any sort of arrangement like this between the Council and the Summer Court but I guess such things were possible though it still did not seem to sit right with me.

"I asked if he meant all of the Summer Court required distraction or merely the Queen and her top advisors since the level of difficulty for the first was exponential more than that of the second, which itself was hardly a simple and risk free undertaking." Lord Kline continued. "He also told me that the White Council had performed a similar rescue in the Winter Court but that the wizard in charge of that operation had been far too sloppy in his actions and was known to the Winter Queen."

"I assumed of course that this situation he eluded to was the very one that resulted in the unique smell of brimstone discovered in Arctis Tor that I had heard about not long before." Lord Kline's eyes looked right at me as he mentioned this last detail for he obviously knew that the attack on Arctis Tor by someone or something powerful wielding Hellfire had occurred at the same time as my rescue.

As far as I knew Harry had never solved who or what was responsible for that attack and now I was hearing that a wizard of the White Council knew of this event soon after it happened. Perhaps he or she had actually participated in the raid itself. That or someone was trying to suggest that Harry's rescue of me had been part of this attack on Arctis Tor. The revelation made me nearly choke and stopped Lord Kline from continuing his story.

"Do you require a drink my dear?" He asked with undisguised concern. Creatures of the Fae took the rules of hospitality, including for guests in titanium cages it seemed, seriously.

"Wait a minute." I said catching my breath. "Are you trying to tell me that you think I was the wizard being held by the Winter Court and that Harry's rescue was behind the damage done at Arctis Tor?" I asked seeing complete confidence in Lord Kline's eyes though his emotions bespoke much less certainty.

"Of course." He said. "My dear it is hardly a secret. Your master was the apprentice of the White Council's Blackstaff, the one wizard they endow to perform 'wet work' as I believe the current vernacular calls it." Lord Kline explained as his emotions went into turmoil overload once more right before my eyes.

"Secondly Wizard Dresden has been known to have at his disposal and use Hellfire with his spells." Lord Kline explained. "This fact has been documented by a few creatures your master has crossed paths with and who were lucky enough to survive."

"Lastly, you were indeed rescued from Arctis Tor were you not by the Wizard Harry Dresden at the same time it was ravaged by someone wielding Hellfire?" The troll asked rhetorically obviously knowing the answer before he asked the question. "So what is more likely? Your master, who has access to Hellfire attacked Arctis Tor in his rescue of you, and left the place a shambles as a warning to those who would try to cross the White Council, or some other group just happened along at conveniently the same time to damage the center of Queen Mab's power on a whim and leaving it smelling of brimstone while Wizard Dresden rescued you?"

The second is exactly what I knew had actually occurred but I now realized how others who had not been present would see this as the way the troll had described it. Worse still it meant there was someone on the White Council who was promoting this version of events possibly because they did not know the truth, but more likely because this lie supported their ultimate goal, whatever that was. And the best reason to promote this and want the Sumer Court out of the way was to lay the blame for whatever was to come firmly upon Harry instead of allowing anyone to suspect those really behind these events. It was a brilliant move I had to admit based on history, but it really pissed me off. No one does this to my boss!

I needed to hear the rest of the story before making any unsupported claims. "Please continue." I said trying to tap down my own emotions based on a whole new level of potential problems I was unaware of.

"As you wish." He nodded with grace. "My friend also mentioned that he needed to keep you master out of these events if possible because he had so screwed up the raid on Arctis Tor that the White Council could not afford a similar screw up again." The troll's words made me suck my breath. "He did not want Wizard Dresden killed, only distracted from these events long enough for the raid to be pulled off without his less than subtle methods being involved."

"The two of us played chess every day for the following week as we discussed various options and potential results as we formulated our plans." Lord Kline said. "I also won only two thirds of our matches in the process making me suspect my friend's true goal was to keep my mind distracted by our plotting as we played."

"In the end the solution became fairly obvious." Lord Kline said with something of a smile. "What was called for was a temporary crisis in the Summer Court that would send them out to prepare for war by implicating possible involvement of the Winter Court. My associate could therefore perform his rescue and when the situation resolved itself both courts would return to their mostly peaceful state with no true harm being done." The troll seemed happy by this revelation as if it made perfect sense. I can say with all certainty that I did not share his enthusiasm for this plan.

"So you poisoned the Summer Lady and Summer Knight and killed an Olympic ice skater in order to steal his token and therefore frame the Winter Court?" I asked incredulously to counter his point of how no one was hurt by the troll's plan.

His face, or rather his emotions since I was hardly an expert on reading the facial expressions of a troll, took on a twinge of humor at the first accusation and then shock at the second. He began rubbing his head as if the thoughts were painful to him. "No!" Lord Kline said. "The Summer Court nobles are not poisoned. They were merely provided a rather strong sedative to render them unconscious for a few days. They will be themselves in no time." The troll said rubbing even more furious.

"The skater was only supposed to be detained by Rumplestiltskin in order to get a look at his token. The little craftsman can copy anything with any material when he gets a look at it so a fake token was left at the scene of the crime. The death of the skater was not part of my plan. Rumplestiltskin must have been acting on his own designs like he was in producing weapons." Lord Kline's emotions jumped over to frustration and even rage as he tried to control himself. Had I not seen my brother exhibit nearly this exact same emotional flux yesterday I might never have suspected the underlying issue. Of course proving it would require looking more closely.

I opened my third eye and turned it toward the troll not at all surprised to see that he appeared as a regal king in my eyes with long flowing robes and a benign demeanor. But the crown that he wore upon his head was not a jeweled and sparking one of nobility, but rather one of black, twisted thorns and strings of barbwire that tore against the underlying spirit of the otherwise honorable troll. The attack was subtle, seeming to injure the troll only when he focused upon areas that where his plan conflicted with what was really going on. Someone had used Lord Kline against his will.

"Hisha are you seeing this?" I asked and I could feel that through me Hisha came to understand this situation as well.

"I am." He said with concern but also relief. "We must find a way to free his spirit by helping him break free of these bonds."

"I agree." I said with hesitance. "But I cannot mess with them directly or the White Council will execute me. We have to find another way."

"I understand child." Hisha agreed. "I do not believe that such chains could long hold my friend if he fought against them. The problem remains is that we cannot tell him he is the slave to another. His pride would never accept it and the spell would help him reject our offers of help. Therefore we must tighten the bands so that he breaks them himself."

"What about my plan?" I said. "Don't you think that might be the perfect way to free him?"

"I agree Molly." Hisha replied without argument. "You plan to free us might in fact be the way to free him instead." I noted a tone of sympathy and understanding in the monk's voice now that the situation made sense to him once more. I turned to focus most of my mind on my role, though maintaining both chi contact and wizard sight made this more difficult than I had originally planned for.

Okay it was time to go for broke. "Lord Kline, this wizard you speak of." I said watching closely how this crown reacted by shrinking slightly as I prepared a new question as I now suspected what was behind these events. "By any chance was he the one responsible for hiring Rumplestiltskin?" I asked casually so not to upset him any further.

"I made the introduction between the two of them but yes he actually employed him for the Winter token recovery." The troll admitted calming a bit and making the black magic band on his head loosen ever so slightly. It made me certain that only by focusing on specific aspects of these events could we try to break him free. And knowing what I knew of the troll I thought I knew where some of these aspects lay.

"Is it possible that the wizard could have also hired him to make the firearms as well?" I asked noting that even as the words left my mouth the band of magic immediately tightened and I could even see the troll's spirit cry out in pain.

"No!" His enragement increased again. "He would not do such a thing. We agree upon a plan that I alone devised."

"A plan that you devised whose purpose was to only temporarily distract the Summer Court." I asked to repeat what I knew.

"Yes!" His stress level continued to increase.

"By making them think they were under attack by their eternal enemies?" I asked again.

"Exactly." He agree but the crown stayed tight none the less. "No one will get hurt as long as we follow my plan."

"Except The Lady of Summer and the Summer Knight you mean. They of course will die." I said seeing the band tighten even further causing the troll more pain still.

"No I told you that they will awaken soon." Lord Kline responded. "They were only provided a powerful sedative."

"No they are near death Lord Kline." Elaine spoke up and interrupted us. Thank you Hisha for the perfect interruption! "The poison that was actually used was iron and not whatever drug you and your wizard friend had originally agreed upon."

That revelation made the crown tighten again causing even more pain, but one of the strings that made up the crown seemed to tense too far like a guitar string tightened too much and then broke before my eyes. It fell away as a mystic strand and dissipated before my wizard sight. The troll's body shuddered at this moment of pain but I could see his spirit grew in strength as he felt the bonds holding it weaken.

"Iron?" He asked rubbing his head but his tone now held a sense of confusion. "Are you sure?"

"We found no sign of any drug as you stated should have been present." Elaine explained. "Our spells should have detected something if what you say was truly the source."

Before he could come up with a defense I quickly named all the foods that had been consumed at their banquet and drew the troll's distracted attention back to me. "Each of those foods is high in iron. Any one might have made the pair sick. Together though it was a poisonous overdose." I explained. "And since this is a change from what you plan had called for it meant that someone intended for this to be the result. Someone is using your plan to actually kill the Summer Court."

"Lord Kline?" Daniel spoke up drawing everyone's our attention and allowing Hisha to send me a chi wink. "I am not familiar with the normal process fairies use to make deals, but whoever ordered the bang sticks did so by telephone." He said calmly and without accusation. "Do they have phones in the Nevernever?"

Daniel may have been prompted by Hisha and therefore have no clue as to why he said that but the rest of us understood. Faeries do not regularly use a telephone. They appear in person. Creatures like vampires and such might use a phone but Queen Mab certainly preferred a direct discussion. That fact sort of lent credence to my idea that the wizard had been behind this order. The troll seemed to understand that immediately as well.

"No!" The troll fought against the idea. "That had to be someone in the courts, likely Summer, looking for a way to improve their odds if what you say is true about the Lady and the Knight."

"So then is it the Summer Court who is making their own forces disappear?" Elaine asked.

"No you said yourself that the Winter Court was recruiting them." Lord Kline replied.

"Are you ready Hisha?" I asked in my mind.

"Yes Molly, it will be as you say." He replied

"So Lord Kline let me get this straight." I said drawing his full attention back to me so that the last element of my plan could come into play. "You devised a plan to distract the Summer Court. At the same time, someone else in the Summer Court just happened to learn of your plan and substitutes what amounts to real poison against the Lady and Knight of Summer and do so that Elaine and I do not immediately notice what is actually at play. Thirdly the strongest and most loyal of Summer's forces suddenly go missing, probably recruited in your eyes by an agent of Winter. And lastly Rumplestiltskin begins building firearms for someone else whom we do not know." I let this all sink in to the troll's mind.

"That is four rather complex plans all taking place at once." I stated. "Doesn't it seem to stretch credibility that all four should happen at roughly the same time and not be related?" My sight showed me the bands around his spirit seemed to be reaching critical mass. "Doesn't it seem to be more likely someone, perhaps your wizard friend, is actually working all this behind the scenes as an elaborate chess game?" I said using the strategic theater most familiar to him.

"It would but that would make the wizard a veritable strategic genius. You give him too much credit for being able to out think me." Lord Kline said resisting the idea. "He is good but…"

"Oh by the way..." I interrupted and pointed at my chessboard. "…I believe this is checkmate." I said looking at the table in front of me that showed my queen and a rook piece having neatly trapped his king.

"What?" He said looking down at the board. "We did not even begin…"

"I have checkmate as well." Hisha said softly but drew the troll's full attention. Lord Kline's eyes looked from one board to the next on each one he had either lost his match or in the case of Elaine and Daniel was so far behind in pieces and position that the loss was inevitable in a few more turns.

"We were not playing..." The troll said trying to deny what his eyes were saying.

"What are you talking about? Of course we were while we talked just as you promised." I said in response adding a sense of confusion to my voice though laced with my best acting skills at being honest. Dealing with my mother this was a necessary survival skill at times.

Hisha's illusion cast over all four game boards was fantastic and certainly better than anything I could have done. The spell would likely fall apart if Lord Kline actually reached out to touch a piece but the shock of what the troll was seeing, that all four games, magically enhanced and beyond our ability to reach, appeared lost or in jeopardy so unnerved him that he dared not touch any of the pieces. His spirit sagged and the magical bonds holding onto it suddenly fell away with nothing to grasp onto."

The troll seemed to shake himself out of a stupor the instant they were gone and looked once more to the boards. "You lie!" He said turning to look at me. "It was all an illusion you created after you promised not to use your magic on me."

"First I did not use my magic. The illusion was Hisha's." I explained. "And the purpose was not to deceive but instead to demonstrate to you that you could be out manipulated by someone without your sense of honor where challenges of strategy are involved. Now I ask you again, are you absolutely certain that your wizard friend could not have done the same to you in order to set this series of events into motion?"

The troll's indignation turned inward to self reflection. I could see him wondering for the first time why he was so willing to believe his friend to be innocent when now so much pointed the to the opposite. "I will admit I am hardly as firm in my belief as I was a moment ago." He acknowledged. "But that hardly makes me ready to violate my promise to him and free you all."

"I am sure your promise said nothing about being an accessory to murder or helping to start a war though did it?" I asked the troll.

"No it certainly did not, but that does not change the fact that I agreed to keep Elaine and yourself from interfering in these events at the Summer Court." He said.

"Wait a minute." I said at his words. "This plan was devised a year ago?" I asked.

"Yes, that is what I told you." He replied.

"Then there is no way that you could have promised to stop me because there is no way anyone could have suspected I would get involved." I reasoned. "You actually promised to keep Harry and Elaine, the traditional Winter and Summer Emissaries from interfering didn't you?" I said with a smile knowing this had to be true.

The troll thought about this for a moment. "Well that is technically true I suppose. As I have said your presence in these events has been something of a wildcard. I see you are continuing to perform in this role." His smile was not completely faked. "You would likely make a dangerous chess player, providing you ever took the time to actually play that is."

"So you could release me so that I could save the lives of Lily and Fix and still not violate your promise you made. This would also help you protect your honor at the same time." I said reasoning that the latter was still important to him.

"And I and your friends merely wait here for word of your success?" The troll asked.

"Not necessarily." I said with a quick moment of inspiration. "Just because you cannot upset the plans at the Summer Court does not stop you from checking out another part of this story and confirming it for yourself now would it?" I asked.

"Providing it did not interfere, no it would not." He agreed.

"Well since you are such a great strategic thinker in my backpack is a map of the Nevernever." I explained pointing to my pack. "If you wanted to hide an army from the notice of the Queens of Winter and Summer where would you hide them until you needed them?" I asked.

The troll smiled and retrieved my pack. "Well I would need to place them someplace where there was no chance to detect them or have anyone inadvertently stumble across them or my entire plan would be ruined." The troll said laying out the map. "That means not only is almost all of the Nevernever useless for this purpose but so is the mortal realm because of the number of being who travel or live in these lands. What you need is someplace like…" His words trailed off as he stared at the map.

I waited in silence as did the others while Lord Kline exercised the skill he had focused upon for centuries before I was ever born. Finally I saw him smile and turn to look at all of us having solved the riddle in his own mind at least.

"There are a small group of islands not far from the shores of Summer lands by a place called Lighthouse Point." He said pointing to the map so we could all see. "A body of water that large would remove the chance for a detection spell to find them and the fact that to get to these islands one must pass near to Siren's Island would keep most beings from even considering using such a place. The sirens' call would lure most males to their deaths, but someone smart could plan for that and avoid its effects. It would also make those looking for the army dismiss this location. If I were the one planning to hide an army, that would be the place where I would put it."

"So why don't you take the others and go prove it?" I asked simply. "Surely that would not violate any promise you made."

"It would not." The troll agreed and reminded me of the noble being I had originally thought him to be. "Meanwhile you can go save the Summer Court nobles and meet us where?" He asked.

"Lighthouse Point seems a good choice." I said. "If someone is really trying to start a war, that seems to be the place to stop them from using this army."

"Your logic makes sense." The troll said. "But you will have to travel far and fast to do so. Will your magic provide you this ability?"

I had an easy solution to that particular problem. "Let's just say that my need for speed is the least of my concerns. So I take it we have a deal?" I smiled at the troll who smiled right back.


	20. Chapter 20

**Semper Fidelis**

**_Chapter 20_**

"So I was reading in your mating journal Cosmopolitan and found that it says by trailing a peacock feather along the bare skin of your partner the female of your species is able to excite the male and encourage him toward other interesting activities. Is this true or is it just a fanciful story?" Honey, the rather sex obsessed unicorn, popped this question into my mind as the lands of Summer raced beneath her feet and I tried desperately not to think of falling off and breaking my neck.

When Lord Kline freed me I immediately broke the strand of unicorn hair that I had tied around my finger and nearly forgotten about in the clamor of the past few days. It says something for the strength of unicorn hair that being tossed around in a few battles had not broken the strand inadvertently. But then again unicorns were magical creatures.

The other four of my companions had left heading the opposite direction from what became my own course in order to try and learn if an unaccounted for Summer army was in fact hiding out of sight on a nearby island. I was happy to see that while there remained tension between the troll and my three companions that Hisha at least had made some initial outreach toward mending the bridges the two had shared in the past. I suspected that now that he knew Lord Kline's will and therefore actions in these events had not been entirely his own he would find it within his heart to forgive him eventually.

Daniel was less than pleased to separate from me and had no problem telling me so in private as I had him turn over the sporting goods he had collected earlier this night. He pointed out where their group was headed seemed more likely to require these materials but I pointed out that would only be true if they were used for their intended purpose. I of course had other things in mind and carefully packed them into my own carrying pack so they would be ready when called upon.

I also told him that he should trust Hisha's guidance and that the old raksasha would not lead him astray. When he asked about the troll and Elaine I merely said he would have to make those judgments for himself. He did give me a hug, something completely out of the norm for the Daniel I had been dealing with for the last year or so, and after my initial surprise I hugged him just as tight back and told him to be safe.

"I am more worried about you sis than I am for myself." Daniel said with complete honesty and a look that he truly was the brother I remembered. Of course that included being too stupid not to realize just how dangerous a place like the Nevernever was for wizards much less those like him without any magic to draw upon.

"Don't be." I said adding a bit of a smile to show confidence. "I'm a wizard. This will be as easy as crossing the street." I said to hopefully make him relax.

"Yeah, well I grew up with you so I know better." He smiled back warmly. "Try not to get hit by a bus okay?" The joke was obvious but there was an undeniable undertone of concern in his voice. He turned and walked away before I could say anything else or thankfully before he could notice the tears brewing in my eyes. I wondered if he did so that quickly because he was hiding the same.

Honey arrived within ten minutes of the group's departure and was beaming with excitement at seeing me. At first I wondered if the faerie clothing I was wearing had me dressed up in her eyes like some proverbial virgin goddess but the naughty little emotions I felt radiating off of her immediately dispelled that idea. For a creature dedicated to working solely with virgins she certainly was obsessed by the idea of sex.

"So do you think I could use a cockatrice feather instead of a peacock's?" Honey asked me as we continued to run at what I knew to be breakneck, and break arm, break leg, break ribs, etc., speeds just waiting for her sex distracted mind to allow her to step into whatever the Summer Court equivalent of a gopher hole was here in the Nevernever.

"I am not having this conversation with you." I said keeping my eyes closed and hoping my fear of dying was keeping me from blushing too much.

Honey of course completely ignored me and just continued on. "I mean a cockatrice has the ability to turn flesh into stone with its touch so wouldn't that seem to provide the added benefit of…"

"Really, not listening!" I said suddenly thinking the whole Cosmopolitan subscription had been a really bad idea.

We thankfully arrived at the heart of the Summer Court even faster than on our initial trip. Honey explained she had to keep a slower pace back then because the centaur's ego could not handle it if he learned just how fast a unicorn really was. I thanked her and she said she would be waiting nearby to return me to my friends once my mission here was completed. As this was part of our original bargain I did not fear accepting such a service, though I did dread how much more 'girl talk' I would be forced to endure on the ride back when she could take a slightly more leisurely pace.

I walked into the Court and was suddenly hit by a strong sense of dread and wrongness that had not been present, or certainly not to these levels, the last time that Elaine and I had been here. Maybe it was merely how quiet this place that was normally filled with the love of life was at the moment. Or maybe I was too late and Fix and Lily were already dead. The latter thought spurred my feet to move a little faster.

I barely remembered where I was going, relying on my feet and emotions to guide me more than any visual landmarks that all seemed new to me. I wondered if that were an unfortunate side effect of the constant rebirth of live that Summer supported is that everything was new all the time. Even if it was, the body I stumbled across when I turned a corner near the hedgerow and almost tripped over it certainly did not fit that travel brochure picture.

The body was that of an elf, a she elf based on her modestly molded breastplate, who had died with her sword in her hand for all the good that did her. Based upon the fist sized cauterized hole burned straight through her stomach her weapon had merely served for show. Wisps of smoke still curled up from the remains of the wound. I will save you the description of what that particular effect smelled like. I had seen a lance of flame spell before when Harry had cast such magic but now seeing the results up close on a childlike looking elf who looked in truth younger than half my siblings made me sort of happy such a spell was beyond my capability.

On the other hand it was more or less a signature type spell for those who knew Harry. And based upon what Lord Kline had said, I wondered if this spell had not been used purposely to incriminate my boss. If that was their plan, then they were in for trouble. These types of things did not happen on Molly Carpenter's watch; well not if I could stop them at least.

The only good side of finding the body was that I knew I was on the right track. Elaine had said that only the personal guard of the Lady of Summer and the Summer Knight were still at the court protecting their charges while the rest were in the field preparing for war so the young elf must have been one of those left behind. I also felt a familiar tingle of spent magic in the air that I could follow through the maze like a rat smelling cheese. "Go go gadget sensitive magic bloodhound!" I thought as I hurried up.

I was gaining on whoever attacked the elf because the next body was not even dead yet. This one was a green and brown haired nymph who cradled her severed right arm to her body in shock. The fire's cauterizing effect would probably keep her from dying since there was not a lot of blood, or sap, or whatever liquid nymphs had inside of them. But hey maybe she could tell me where the others were since they almost assuredly were trying to get to Fix and Lily.

"My lady which way did you attacker go?" I said bending down and trying to get the Fae creature's attention. She was in shock of her wound and did not even sense my presence much less seemingly hear my question. Well desperate times and so forth…

I leaned back and slapped the nymph across the face, spinning her head and even hurting my hand in the process. I can't say that some part of me, probably something aligned to Winter did not take a small satisfaction in that action, but I tapped that down for more immediate issues such as where her attacker had gone and if Lily and Fix still lived.

The nymph's eyes opened wide and stared at the Winter token on my chest. She recoiled away though there was not much room for her to do. "You shall not get to them." She said trying to rally defiance but realizing her claim was likely bluster.

"Look at me." I commanded. "I am not the one who attacked you or desire to partake of any war." I said. "I am the Winter Emissary sent here to prevent such a war. Do you remember me?" I asked.

She looked at me. "I remember you but I do not believe you." She said though her defiance fled. "A wizard of your White Council did this to me." She said indicating her severed arm. "You kind have aligned itself to the forces of Winter just as Lady Abagalesidhe warned us you would. I will not allow you to perform the killing stroke on the new Lady of Summer and Summer Knight just so you might brag to others of your kind as your Master Dresden does over his killing of Lady Aurora." God I did not have time for this.

"Look I have come here to save both of them." I said. "Lily and Fix were struck down by eating foods laced with iron. It is in their blood and unless I get to them they will die whether you leave me sitting out here or not." I said opening up my pack and showed her the two jars and the contents they contained.

"This is medicine that may keep them alive, but every second makes that chance less likely." Okay the term 'medicine' was a bit of a stretch even though I guess from a historical perspective it was technically true. I can't tell you how pleased I am that times have changed when I think over my own trips to the doctor.

The nymph picked up one of the jars and stared at the contents and then looked back at me once more. I was thankful that she was obviously familiar with what was inside for that made her at least understand what I was planning. But even with that being said, the Winter token on my chest was not something she was prepared to overlook.

"You story certainly contains all the details to make it seem reasonable Winter Emissary, but all the best lies are wrapped tightly under blankets of truth." The nymph said handing the jar back to me. "I am changed with overseeing the remaining life of The Summer Lady and Knight and I shall not allow you the chance to harm them more." She settled back against the hedge row behind here and from her posture and emotions I could sense she had resigned herself and her people to die.

That just pissed me off. I don't know how else to put it. I had watched Harry face off against odds that seemed utterly impossible and do so with a smile and a few cocky comments. Granted the stakes in this case were worse than even some of those events, but to me this should make people try even harder to succeed not to go resigned to their death.

I stood up and with my right hand I grabbed the barely five foot nymph who weighed only slightly more than a leaf in my opinion, from off the ground and held her up at my eye level so that her bare toes could not feel the blades of grass six inches or more beneath her feet. I cocked my hand back and the nymph's eyes prepared for the spell she expected me to cast to end her life once and for all.

My left hand came forward and I slapped her ever stronger across her face, first to the left and then to the right, so hard it seemed to jar her teeth and left red welts in the shape of my hand on both cheeks. While she had been prepared for a spell, likely of flame, to end her life, facing off physically with a formerly perky but now nearly psychotic apprentice wizard mortal was a completely different thing.

"Listen Bitch, a famous poet it my world once said "Do not go gentle into that good night." I said quoting Dylan Thomas's most famous work. "Now you can help me save the lives of the Summer Lady and Knight and keep this war your kind and those from Winter seem to accept as inevitable from happening or I am going to find a way to save them anyway and then I am going to hunt down your oak tree and ensure it is used to make a hundred toilet seats for mortals to crap on before we all die." Okay that was neither ladylike nor emissary-like but I was really getting sick of having to play nice word games with everyone around me. "Now take me to Lily and Fix!" I slapped her a third time just to make sure my point was made.

The resignation was gone from her face and replaced by wide-eyed fear. She tried to deny me but she could not even get her head to shake. The worst part though is that I could feel there was some part deep inside of me that loved this feeling of power I had over her at the moment. Worse still was that I knew it had nothing to do with the Winter token. It was the darkness inside of myself that Harry had warned me about bubbling to the surface. I liked the feeling; so I had to lock it away.

I placed the nymph back upon her feet on the grass. "I am sorry." I said averting my eyes at the horror of what I had done. "Both Summer and Winter are so stringent in your hatred of each other that you are letting others manipulate you into a war. Personally I would not care if you two destroyed each other, but whoever is behind this is trying to do it in such a way so that someone I care about will be held responsible and killed. I care about him as much as you do your Lady and Knight so I must save their lives to save his."

The honesty of that statement struck me because I had not even known I thought such a thing until I spoke it aloud. Geez what a stupid time to suddenly realize I had a crush on my boss. Worst still is that he was not here to be able for me to tell him how I felt.

"Swear to me that you will actually try to save them and I will take you to them." The nymph said as she looked at me with sudden understanding. Great another oath is all I needed hanging over me, but I really did not have time for anything else.

"Alright I swear upon my magic that…" I began but the nymph interrupted me before I could finish.

"No!" She said firmly. "I don't care about your magic." She said looking at me with serious intent. "Swear to me on this love that you feel and then I will take you to the Lady and the Knight."

Her demand set me back on my heels and then successfully locked away, for the moment at least, the darkness I felt that had risen up inside of me. I knew how terrible the result of violating an oath based upon my magic could be if I did not keep it. Harry had made that result very plain to me early on in my lessons with him. But both he and my father had always said love was an even stronger power than magic. What terrible things could happen if I dared to violate such an oath?

I did not even think to hesitate once I reasoned this all out. Sure I had a lot to lose if I broke my word. But having my oath to fall back upon would also give me the strength I needed to see things through if times got tough, which they always seemed to do. "I swear upon my love for Harry that I will do all that I can to save Lily and Fix." I said feeling a bond placed upon me that was stronger than the oath of magic I had made to Lord Kline only hours before. Molly what are you getting yourself into I wondered?

With a nod the nymph accepted my word and she leaned back against the hedge behind her and like magic, yeah the pun was on purpose, the branches opened a pathway once more to the inner courtyard. Unlike the last time I visited though this place no longer looked alive and festive. Instead it showed all the signs of a battle, both from the destroyed tables, numerous small fires still burning, and of course the half dozen or so dead Summer attendants whose bodies lay scattered over the ground.

Untouched though through all the destruction were the magical biers that the Lady of Summer and her Knight lay within. We walked to them, around the worst of the destruction and remains, the nymph accepting my shoulder to lean upon after only a moment of hesitancy. She kept her eyes firmly fixed on our destination and her loyalty to her charges rather than what remained of her friends who had died giving their lives while attempting to do the same.

The casket each of the pair lay within looked to normal eyesight as crystal clear glass but to a sensitive wizard such as myself I could feel that it was in truth a magical creation and extension of Queen Tatania's power. It was keeping the pair alive and protected at the moment, but also ensuring that when they died their power would come directly back to her and not be temporarily lost like it was when the previous Summer Knight had died. With war boiling on the horizon it was a reasonable decision; even if it did prevent me from touching the pair like I needed to.

"Is there some way to open this?" I asked the nymph. "I need to get this to their skin." I said holding up the two jars to show that I had been serious in what I was planning.

She nodded and placed one hand over the crystal casket and spoke words that made no sense to me but left me thinking of a sunny, pine forest beside a bubbling stream. Summer magic was very odd for a mortal to comprehend I guess.

Within moments the area beneath the nymph's hand began to glow and then parted, opening a space that would be just large enough for my hand holding the jar to reach in through. As I unscrewed the lid I wondered if the magic opening would snap back closed once I put my hand inside. Wouldn't that be a pretty poetic revenge by a creature who had lost her own arm to a mortal wizard? I pushed the thought aside and reached in, realizing I had to have faith that what I was doing would be the right thing.

While shamans and others gifted with magic had often been healers for their villages and tribes throughout history, the need for curative capabilities in the mortal population far exceeded the ability of wizards to perform especially with the huge increases in the human population. Add to that fact that many civilizations for a thousand years or so promoted the idea of burning wizard healers at the stake and you quickly understand that more mundane forms of medicine were required.

Of course the study of medicine was not grounded solely in science, at least not from its earliest days. Few people know that doctors only wear white coats today because they wanted to imitate scientists, who also wore white, and used to disparage the medical profession and its treatments. They took great pains in proving their methods did nothing positive for the patient.

In order to lend credibility to the medical profession, which was held in the same general esteem as Congress today, doctors followed the old adage of 'if you can't beat them, join them' and began wearing the same clothes as scientists just to give the impression to patients that they were science based and reliable; even if that were true or not. Over time that little bit of public relations became common practice even though few knew today know its history.

One of those earliest practices held in much disdain by scientists was the practice of leeching or bloodletting. Early medical practitioners thought all sickness was an issue of the blood and if enough of it was drained away the patient would recover. Knowing what I know today I wonder if this was actually an idea promoted by the Red or Black vampire courts to hide their own nefarious identities behind the medical profession. Thankfully bloodletting fell out of favor in the past two centuries or so when the study of the human body pointed in new directions. Recently though scientists actually reversed course and said that leeching was a valid treatment in some very rare conditions. One of those just happened to be the case of too much iron in the blood.

As I dumped the nasty little critters on Fix's face and chest the literal blood sucking worms began to squirm about and do exactly what nature and their singular instinct demanded of them. They latched onto his skin and began to feed; drawing iron laced blood from his body though a hundred or so little mouths; I guess Daniel had not been cheap, that or the sporting goods shop was having a sale on fishing bait.

If all went as it should the little leeches would drain a pint or two of blood and iron away, which would signal to his body to produce more. The new blood however would not be created infused with iron and therefore it would overall dilute the amount of poison still in his body. I explained this all to the nymph as I repeated the process by pouring the second jar over the Lady of Summer as well. It would likely take a few days for the leeches to restore their iron levels down to a more normal range, and the treatment would be disgusting, but they would live if I had my facts straight.

"Thank you." The nymph said as closed the second hole and then she turned toward me. I saw her smile vanish in an instant and then turn to shock, not at me but at something behind me, which was the only warning I had before what could only be a wizard's wooden staff slammed against the back of my head and knocked me to the ground spilling the contents of my backpack and leaving me weak and seeing stars.

"Open the wards up again." A male voice demanded that sounded somewhat familiar but I could not place. I was having trouble staying conscious from the blow but I tried to tell my body to push myself up from the ground and at least see what was happening. My body, however, had voted against that course of action and like the teacher's union when the county needed to make budget cuts, immediate went on strike.

"Never!" The nymph's voice called out.

There were some other words exchanged but my mind was unable to hear them. I did however sense the gathering of magic and the release of a powerful spell before my body registered the rise in temperature and told me fire had been the result. I struggled some more but nothing my mind sent to my limbs to do seemed to be getting through. I did register the screams of the nymph that seemed to end rather suddenly and with a sense of finality.

I lay there for a few moments, hell it could have been an hour for all I know, before I felt the end of the wizard's staff flip the hair up off my face so its owner could get a better look at me. I tried to open an eye and look his way but between the blow to the back of my head and the fact that he was standing with the sun directly behind him all I could make out was an indistinct and shadowy shape that towered over me.

"Why if it is not Dresden's little warlock apprentice." He said with undisguised delight of surprise in his voice. "I did not recognize you without your pink and blue hairstyle that you were sporting last time." He said moving his staff and letting my hair fall back down over my face. The fact that he recognized me, most likely from my trial since that was when I had that particular hair style, meant I was right; I likely had met or at least heard his voice somewhere before likely at the trial.

"You know when I had conceived of this plan I asked my agent to work to keep you master out of it because he has this annoying tendency of screwing up things that are beyond him." The wizard gloated as he explained details of his plan. Yeah if anyone needed a refresher course of the Ultimate Evil Overlord's list of what not to do it was this guy.

"However, your presence here is quite fortuitous." He explained and then I felt him start gathering magic and that he was using it to fill another source that was already brimming with magic power of its own.

"You see after that fiasco at Arctis Tor I could not afford to have anyone looking too close at who was behind the attack on another Faerie Court so I had hoped to perform this particular raid without notice." He said. "Unfortunately I crossed paths with someone who had personal desires of her own and that detail created an unforeseen conflict. However, we were able to come up with an agreement that if I helped her remove the Lady and Knight then she would turn a blind eye to my other activities, especially if there was someone else more likely deserving of the blame I could pin this all on. And well here you are my dear ready to play that role"

"Unfortunately, these magical biers the pair lay within are keeping them alive and preventing my spells from reaching them which makes it impossible for me to kill them quietly." The mysterious wizard said. "That means I have to go old school and ratchet up the power a bit. Up until a few moments ago I only had the Winter token to use as the focus and a blame for that type of detonation. Now though it will look that much better when the body of Dresden's apprentice, working as an agent of Winter, is found among the rubble and will make a very convenient excuse for the 'accidental' explosion by an apprentice who just was unready to handle that much magic."

I felt the raw power he was filling into the Winter token and while he might not be a power match for a spell that Harry could throw, instead of a single burst he kept pouring more and more into the artifact. I guess it was important to remember that a lake is nothing more than lots of little drops of water contained all in one place. And the Winter token was becoming the dam that held this water back from overflowing and wiping out a significant portion of the Summer Court in the process.

I felt the flow of magic stop as he bent over and laid the magic icicle near my body. "It is a pity child that this blast will kill you." The unknown wizard whispered to me. "I would so like to have seen the Wardens execute you and your master together one day when one or the other of you failed."

"Bastard!" I tried to say but only the second syllable formed correctly which all things being equal was not so bad considering. I received another rap to the side of my head for that minor indignity, not a full on blow but more of a slap on the hand for trying to be defiant. Normally I would have shrugged it off but the pain in my head flared up even higher.

"I would say for you to take that as a lesson not to speak poorly to your betters but as you have no future to make such learning important the idea of a lesson is therefore wasted." He snarled. "Give my regards to Dresden when he comes to meet you in Hell." And without another word the wizard strode away, caring not that he had left me still alive on the ground behind him. Like I said he really needed to brush up on his Evil Overlord rules if he was going to make mistakes like this and live; that was provided I could get my mind clear enough to make my body respond.

I tried to command my arms to move but all that attempt at concentration achieved was to increase the size of my headache. Damn his first shot had hit perfectly and unless I found a means to shake this off I was done for. And not just that, Harry was a goner too. There was no way I was going to let them kill him because I was too weak. I needed to heal enough to move and hopefully Hisha had shown me what I needed to know.

I also was struck by the odd thought that the entire reason I was going to die right now was because Harry had not had bologna in his fridge and I had been too lazy to go to the store to buy some. If that was not an argument against peanut butter and jelly sandwiches then I do not know what was. Sorry Skippy and Jif, from now on I'm and Oscar Meyer kid!

Thankfully keeping my eyes closed was easy. The difficult part was not being distracted. I could get past the pain and the exploding stars in my head but the overwhelming sense of magic by my back that had begun to feel like it was literally burning through my faerie clothes made this quite a bit more difficult. Thankfully I was getting use to the path I had to mentally take and though the going was slow, or at least too slow for my comfort, I finally stepped fully into my chi and felt its warm healing touch clear my mind and reduce the concussion swelling I now realized that I had. By the time I was done my mana was nearly tapped out, but thankfully I was able to sit up without any pain and take account of my situation.

I'm certain Harry had a dozen means at his disposal for getting rid of this atypical time bomb. He could probably will it to another location, drain off the power stored within it, or find a way to fling it so high up that the explosion would do nothing on the ground. Yeah, the problem was he had yet to teach me any of those types of spells.

I had my own Winter token that might allow me to open a gate of my own, likely either to Winter itself or to the mortal world, neither of which actually solved the problem I was faced with it only moved it someplace that was likely equally as bad. I did know it was bad form to use magic to drop your problems in someone else's unsuspecting lap. There was also the quite real possibility that this would kill me as gates were more or less new to me.

I considered and dismissed the idea of wrapping one of my shield charms around it and trying to contain the blast. They might be able to stop a bullet or deflect a normal spell, but the icon was flared up and full of magic to rival a small deity so it was hardly going to work. And all that energy ended up slapping against my body with that spell is not properly deflected and truth be told I was not looking for experiencing that much pain. But that gave me an idea of what just might work I realized.

I flipped my pack over and let the rest of the items inside fall free then I flipped the burning icicle token, yes I did recognize the irony of that, with my shoe onto the now empty pack. I grabbed the first piece of playground chalk I could find, florescent lime green, and drew a hasty circle around the token making sure the chalk line was unbroken by any seam in the material. A quick drop of blood, something I found was wet and sticky on the side of my head so readily accessible, and the smallest circle of containment I had ever built, eight inches across, was up and running.

I could have attempted the same thing by pouring the salt I carried in a circle around the token on the ground and saved myself the discomfort of burning off the tip of my faerie shoe but I figured it was dying for a good cause; namely to keep me from doing so. Had my salt circle been flawed then the power would still stream out into the lands of Summer. I wasn't completely sure but I strongly suspected from the damage I had done just driving the power of my regular token into the dirt a few days ago that this was a situation to avoid.

I was just sitting back to wonder if I had done everything I could when the token exploded and converted itself and all the power it contained into a glowing beam of light, much like the killing beam of the Death Star, straight up into the sky which was the only direction the power was capable of flowing. I fell back and away from it in surprise, landing hard enough on my backside to leave a bruise as the laser light show ended as fast as it had begun.

I willed the circle to stop and fell back once more to lie on the grass and close my eyes happy to know I had lived through another event that by all rights should have killed me. I only opened my eyes once I felt the oddly familiar brush and touch of cold on my cheek and could see that small flakes of snow, all that remained of Winter's power, were landing gently and immediately dissipating on the grass. Thankfully this seemed to be a side effect of the magic rather than the power itself for it caused no damage to any part of the lands of Summer where the flakes landed.

I lay there for a time before I found the strength to get up again and start gathering the remains of my gear, the two severed mandibles mostly, salt, chalk, and crystals, into what was left of the backpack. I had just finished when a voice made me spin around and face a totally new problem.

"So Winter Emissary it appears that you have made it snow here in the heart of Summer." Handmaiden Abagalesidhe said without a hint of amusement in her voice. She was dressed for war in shining copper armor that literally crackled with the electric power the once Goddess of Summer Storms was known for.

"No, what I did was stop a human wizard from blowing this place up with the same Winter token you found on the cook and left lying around here completely unprotected." I said finding my balance and while not taking a posture directly challenging of her authority, I took one that did not communicate I was backing down in any way to her challenge either. "In the process I saved the lives of your Summer Lady and Knight; twice actually if you consider the leeches that are drawing away the iron they had been poisoned with. So before you get all high and mighty on me about being the Emissary of Winter perhaps you should acknowledge this service I have done for your court and back off." Okay maybe the last was a bit much but Harry always said it was wise to deal with the Sidhe from a position of strength and not weakness. I only hoped Abagale saw it that was too.

"I do indeed applaud your intelligence and resourcefulness, especially considering your relative lack of experience with both magic and the Courts." She said but did not smile. Then again I don't think I had ever seen the Handmaiden of Summer smile.

"However, since it was I who put these plans in action you must understand that I hardly can allow them to falter now when they are so close to succeeding." She said with a wicked smile that made me long for a moment earlier when I had never seen her face shaped in such a form. "And of course I cannot leave witnesses to this action either so you my dear will have to die like the tool of Winter you deserve to." She drew up a charge of electricity into her hand that I just knew was going to hurt if she actually got the chance to fire it. So I needed to not give her the chance.

"So you're the one hiding the army out past the Island of the Sirens." I said with my Detective Becket voice catching her off guard and hoping in my ploy that Lord Kline was every bit as strategically smart as he made himself out to be and was right on where to hide an army. I also called up as much magic as I could hold and readied my shield bracelet in case she shot before hearing what I had said.

"How could you possibly know that?" She said drawing her up short in obvious surprise. I guess it is one thing to create a situation to make yourself the hero, but if others could prove she had done this by actually putting the Summer Court in jeopardy in the first place then Queen Tatania would hardly find this acceptable. I knew she had to know just who else knew about this part of her plans.

"Let's just say I have spent the last two days with friends putting together various pieces of this plot and shutting them down one by one." I explained resting my bag on the magical bier that the Lady of Summer lay within. I happened to look down at the leeches on her skin and shuddered, knowing it was the only way to save her, but never wanting to know what that type of rescue would feel like. There were at least a dozen on her pretty face and three or four times that number on the exposed patches of skin that I could see.

"One thing I remain unsure of though." I said to keep her attention away from blasting me. "Did you hire Rumplestiltskin to create the firearms for your little war or was that another of the little sidelines that the White Council wizard was playing to manipulate both Faerie Courts into war?"

"I have no dealings with his kind." She replied. "And if he is doing what you say and violating the treaties against such actions then I will take it upon myself once Queen Tatania imbues me with the power of both the Summer Lady and Summer Knight to ensure he feels significant pain before he dies for such crimes."

Great! The crazy bitch already had too much power and she wanted to top that off with the combined power of the third and fourth most powerful beings of the Summer Court? Yeah I may only be a perky wizard apprentice but that whole situation did not appear to be a good idea to me. Unfortunately, currently that left only me to stop her as well.

"Don't worry yourself over it." I tried to sound nonchalant as I pulled one of the severed mandibles out of my pack and held it up for her to see. "I took care of that loose end for you already."

"I suppose you think I owe you a service for this service then?" She said continuing that smile I would now be happier to have never known about. "And of course your choice would be that I let you go free. Unfortunately that cannot happen so I will make sure I pass my debt onto your next of kin." She said without regard. "The service of such a powerful Fae would be a worthy gift. I suspect I should healing your father is fair compensation. I speak of his body at least since his heart will remain broken for his lost daughter."

Yeah that pissed me off. I know Harry says wizards should not react emotionally but damn it this was my dad she was speaking badly about. So since I was facing death anyway why not go out with a blaze of glory; or in my case a blaze of light!

"Rave!" I commanded loosening my magical light show and funneling it through the mandible in my hand straight into the eyes of Abagalesidhe. Wow, the bony appendages worked every bit as well as I had thought and almost all of my magic landed right in her eyes. Now I may only be a pinprick compared to the sledgehammer she was capable of, but I defy any of you to think a pair of needles driven right into your eyes was less painful or easier to accept that a hammer slamming down on your hand.

She was staggered and stunned and fell back to the ground by the fury of my spell. I had the option to end things right there and then but the Handmaiden of Summer was no novice to battle and before my sword hand had reached the hilt on my back, Abagale erected an electrical curtain all around herself that was a rival to the power in any of Harry's wards. No way I was going to touch that and she was not going to let it down until she was ready to squash me so that left me only one choice; run like hell!

"I am going to tell your army what you have done." I said as I fled. "They are going to know you endangered the entire court just for your own quest for power." Yeah that was not the brightest thing I could have done but I dared not leave Abagale alone long enough to bypass her queen's protections on the Lady and Knight of Summer to finish what she started. She had to come after and silence me first if her plans had any remaining hope of success. Or at least that is what I told myself as I made my way out of the central court through the same passage Abagale had arrive through.

Honey came running to find me as I cleared the hedge maze. "I saw that strange beam of glowing light and I feared the worst." She said stopping and spinning beside me knowing that my rapid fleeing likely meant I needed to get the heck out of here quickly.

"Yeah, that was only part of the problem. I need to get away as fast as I can from Abagalesidhe before she decides to cook me." I explained. "I know your loyalties are to the Summer Court. Can you help me or do I need to find my own way."

"Get on Molly." She said lowering herself so I could vault on and ride like a normal person for once.

"Thanks Honey." I said as the unicorn turned and went from standing to full out gallop in less than four steps.

"Think nothing of it. I never liked that bitch much anyway." She replied. "And if anyone so need to get laid it's her!" I smiled but could not help but find myself agreeing with the sentiment.


	21. Chapter 21

**Semper Fidelis**

**_Chapter 21_**

The race through the Summer lands to Lighthouse Point was if anything even faster than our trip into the heart of Summer. It's funny how little things like the disfavor of a near goddess-like being can inspire one's feet to even faster actions. In part this was driven by how her demonstrated anger was creating a massive thunderstorm behind us from an otherwise clear sky and how the dark rolling clouds were churning fast and if not keeping pace with us then falling only slightly behind as we fled.

"Wow you really did piss her off." Honey said with more than a little worry as lands flew by. Thankfully the normally populated lands were free of being who might stand in our way either purposefully or by sheer accident. "What did you do to make her this mad? Did she catch you sleeping with her boyfriend or something?" I was hardly surprised by now that every thought the unicorn had would involve sex.

"No, I learned that she was the one who poisoned the Summer Lady and Summer Knight." I replied as I clung to her back. "Therefore she wants me dead before I can get word of this to Queen Tatania that her trusted lieutenant Abagalesi…"

Honey bucked me slightly to interrupt my explanation. "Don't say her name aloud." She warned me. "She will hear it and be able to focus her power on us." Damn it Honey was right and that fact was something Harry had told me about in my lessons.

"Sorry." I said hanging onto her mane. "I wasn't thinking." I said picturing a bolt of lightning arcing out of the sky and roasting the two of us the second I had said her name all because I had forgotten this little vital fact. Damn Harry was right telling me how it was usually the forgotten little things that got a wizard killed.

"Think nothing of it." She replied though there was obvious seriousness in her thoughts. This left me feeling awkward none the less and unsure of what to say.

"So the storm bitch poisoned the others in order to steal their power?" Honey sensed my discomfort and restarted the discussion. "What about the war with Winter?"

I almost said her name again but caught myself this time. "She is staging this war to create a crisis. She wants the Queen to transfer the power of the Knight and Lady to her immediately rather than look for another noble more worthy of this responsibility. Once she has that power, the Handmaiden and her hidden army will strike Winter by surprise rescuing the Queen and the lands of Summer in such a public way so that there would be no thoughts of not letting her maintain the power and authority she had been instilled with now that she was a hero."

"Yep she is just that kind of bitch to try something like that!" Honey agreed. "Although I would not be surprised if she actually waited for Queen Tatania to be killed by the forces of Winter before making her appearance instead. Why only collect the power of two of the Summer Court when you might be able to snare all three by playing your cards and timing right?" I had not thought of that as a possibility. That made her desperation even greater because of the planned betrayal of her Queen and therefore my death as a witness became even more important.

"Once we get to Lighthouse Point you need to get word to Queen Tatania of what we have learned." I said. "Even if she does not believe you completely, hopefully she will at least investigate the possibility before getting into a fight in which she is certain to lose. Any delay on this war gives more time for the leeches to do their job and Lily and Fix to wake up." God how does Harry make it through these situations? You know being a party wizard might be more fun; hell at least you get free cake!

"That will not be either as quick or as easy as you make it out to be." Honey replied telepathically. Not that I was at all surprised by this. Nothing ever seems to be quick or easy except of course my ability to get myself into these types of situations.

"Why not?" I asked. "Is the Summer Queen that far away from here?"

"No, her army is a few hours run at most. However that storm she is brewing is between us and the Queen and a certain pissed off handmaiden is making it even larger as we speak so that I will have to go all the way around it to avoid her catching me." Honey explained. "That will more than double the distance and the time at least."

"Yeah but won't it also hide you?" I said. "It's not like she can see right through a wall of rain, right?"

"Actually she can." Honey replied. "But that is probably not what she is doing."

"What do you mean?" Great, there is obviously something else for a perky apprentice wizard to worry about.

"She is probably building the storm up because through it she can travel like a lightning bolt anywhere under its reach. It is her favorite form of travel and means to attack by surprise." Honey answered. Oh this was just getting better and better.

"You're kidding?" I hoped but she mentally shook her head. "So sooner or later when the storm catches up to us she is going to come flashing out of the sky ready to do battle?"

"Yes, providing her arrival is not used to blow us into cinders with the first strike of her power." She answered. "Hopefully your friends will be at the Lighthouse and will already have a boat at their disposal to cross the waters of the Lethe. The open body of water will keep her from using this form of transportation. Since all her power is based on lightning were she to land on the water she would disperse and it might even kill her. She has hated this limitation on her power for the eternity it has bound her. That is probably the reason why she wants the Lady and Knight's power as well. It would give her options and abilities she does not currently have."

Okay so we had to get into the water as fast as possible because it would provide at least a temporary defense. We could hand out on the water for a day or two until Lily and Fix awoke and then… "Wait a minute did you say Lethe? I mean as in the River Lethe; the waterway that makes mortals forget everything by its touch and feeds into Hades; that Lethe?"

"Well it's more like the Lake Lethe here for it is the place where the concept of the lazy days of summer originates from." Honey said. "Its waters begin flowing into a river somewhere much further out but otherwise yes your description is what I am speaking of."

That gave me an idea? "Does its power work on immortals too?" I asked. "Maybe it might make a storm goddess of the faeries forget about unicorns and perky wizard apprentices?"

"Nope, sorry it does not have quite that level of power." Honey replied. "Immortals are immune to its memory leeching touch in that way. For them the touch of the water over time makes others, especially mortals but even immortals if the touch continues, forget about them completely. I have heard there are any number of greater beings who have suffered this fate before passing into the Void." I had heard this term before and knew it referred to the same place as what we wizards called The Outer Gates. "It is sort of like erasing them from the history books, which is why so many make sure their followers record stories of them on stone tablets and such so that there is always a record." She finished her description.

Okay not terribly useful but at least it was something more than I knew a few moments ago. "Okay if we get out into the water I am assuming I can't just stay there. Is there any place you know of safe to land and make my way back to the mortal realm?" I asked.

"If the Handmaiden is using the other islands for hiding her army as you suggest then the only other place is the Island of the Sirens. The sirens' song entices any who hear it, especially males. I've been told they whisper really hot secrets to guys about what they are willing to do. Had it not been for you and your Cosmopolitan journals I was thinking of trying to find a boat to go talk to them." She said with a bit of a mental blush.

The problem with Lighthouse point is that it rested on a peninsula and therefore Honey had to race out and then backtrack quickly back to ensure she did not get trapped by the building storm that was only looking worse as the minutes went by. This meant I had to leap from her back before she had even stopped, which I did surprisingly without even breaking or bruising anything in the process, as she spun and raced away. Thankfully the others were all standing there waiting for me.

"Where is the boat?" I asked looking around. "We need to leave immediately and get out to sea as fast as we can."

"There is no boat." Elaine replied. "At least there are none here right at the moment."

"That is true." Lord Kline said. "Although the sheer number of tracks near the water's edge is proof enough to me that your hidden army story is in fact true." He paused for a moment after this admission. "I must apologize to you Wizard Molly Carpenter for it seems I have indeed been manipulated into helping to cause harm to those who are undeserving. As such I feel it is only right to tell you the identity of my White Council wizard acquaintance so that you can see justice done for these crimes."

"Save it for now." I said pointing to the building storm. "We have much bigger and more immediate concerns. Queen Tatania's handmaiden was the one behind the poisoning of the Summer Lady and Knight. If we do not get out of here and onto the water immediately she is going to come riding down out of the sky on a thunderbolt and likely kill us all." I explained without pulling any punches to demonstrate our sense of urgency.

"Wow Molly you wizards are just outstanding at getting yourselves into all kinds of trouble aren't you?" Daniel said to me with a laugh and shake of his head. This chuck became a full belly laugh when having no better response to this accurate assessment I finally just stuck my tongue out at him like I did when we were we both kids.

"That is problematic I fear." Hisha said. "The waters of the Lethe allow no swimming and as we said there are no boats available though many recent signs of them remain."

"Wait I know that name." Daniel said. "Isn't that the river with the ferryman?" He asked surprising me with his knowledge of Greek mythology. I wondered if this had anything to do with his recent dressing up like King Leonidas of Sparta.

"It is indeed but that option is not a safe choice, even if we were not straddled by other factors." Lord Kline said. "Charon does not take passengers, living ones at least, for free."

Daniel nodded at this. "Yeah I know the Chris de Burgh's song." He said opening a small side pouch in his pack and pulling forth nearly a dozen of the gold coins he had been paid over the course of his weeks of work for Rumplestiltskin. It looks like that blood money could be put to yet another good use after all.

"Alright I grant you that you have taken care of the payment portion if we were so inclined toward this insane idea." Lord Kline agreed. "But the overriding issue remains we have no means at our immediate disposal to call the ferryman. If I recall the myths, it required a great conch shell or something similar to signal your request for his services."

"Or merely something that sounds like blowing into a conch shell I bet." I said pulling out one of the spider's mandibles and willing a stream of magic through it to meet my desires. Visual illusions required the caster to fix in their mind what form the illusion will take in the eyes of the viewer. Audio illusions did the same though with sounds. It was therefore relatively easy to simulate the sound and then use the magic to project it as loudly as possible assuming that a being who merely waited for this call would register it and come when beckoned. I mean really, how many of these calls could Charon really have to contend with on a daily basis?

"You are incredibly adept at problem solving young Miss Carpenter even when using newly acquired skills such as this for yourself." Hisha said with a smile and nod of approval. I smiled in response but noticed behind the old monk that Elaine however looked away from me and instead merely huddled further into her winter coat. I could sense that her fear and discomfort levels were on the rise once more. I walked over to her knowing that we would need her help in the battle to come.

"Elaine, you know what we are up against, you know our enemy the best." I said speaking of Abagalesidhe without mentioning her by name. "Surely you must know something we can use. What is her weakness? How do we get out of this situation alive?"

"We won't." She said without any hint of hope or possibility in her voice. "Or at least you won't." She paused and drew a long breath as if wanting to continue but then not having the strength to do so.

"But I take it you will?" I asked catching onto her phrase. "Let me guess, you still owe her a favor and so she will not kill you because that would be wasting a perfectly useful tool." I probably sounded just a little more harsh than I had intended to but it seemed to me that I was suddenly facing the very issue that made me not want to trust her to begin with.

"No, this investigation settled my debts to all of Summer Court." She explained. "As of the moment you learned who was truly behind the poisoning I was free and clear with no one holding any obligations over my life for the first time in more than twenty years." You would think that she would look upon that with pride but if anything that fact seemed to depress her even more. "It looks like I get to enjoy that freedom for perhaps an entire hour or two before it is lost again."

"Then you can help us beat her." I reasoned, still not seeing where the problem was.

"We can't beat her Molly." Elaine said looking at me without quite soulgazing. "Even if we get out to sea eventually we will have to land and she will be there. I know Harry trained you not to give up. I also realized that he killed Aurora. But do you really think we stand a chance against her power? I assure you we don't!" She was starting to lean toward hysteria. "She will kill each and every one of you and force me to watch in order to break me completely once more. Then when you are all dead she will put her dog collar back on me and I will serve as her trained pet that she will make do tricks in front of all her friends. I do not even have the benefit of looking forward to a quick death."

Like I said before I really do not like how some people so willingly roll over and accept bad things as inevitable. I clenched my fists and felt my anger bubbling up, not only because of Elaine's weakness but also because part of me knew she was probably right about how this would all play out. It pissed me off and unfortunately Elaine was the only target present for my anger. Thankfully though, before I said anything rash Daniel's hand came down lightly on my shoulder.

"Molly let me talk to her." He said softly. "I know what it's like to carry this kind of fear. You need to go make one of your wonderful plans you are becoming famous for to get us all out of this mess." He smiled, I mean really smiled at me. "Isn't that what your wizards like you and Harry are supposed to be good for?"

I nodded and gave him a quick hug, feeling my anger dissipate before I turned to Lord Kline and Hisha who were discussing tactics and possibilities. I went to join them while Daniel and Elaine stepped away to talk about fearful things in private. She even let him rest her head upon his shoulder as he put his arm around her for support.

"You realize your idea of putting to sea will merely delay the inevitable." Lord Kline said. "We have been conveniently outmaneuvered from the very beginning I fear and at this stage of the game, checkmate is inevitable. We can delay and play the game out further, but I fear that Wizard Elaine is correct, the results have already been written as far as we are concerned." His words were not accusatory or harsh, merely a simple evaluation of the situation through his eyes; eyes that could see a dozen moves out on a chessboard.

I turned to the old monk. "Do you believe we have lost as well Hisha?" I asked.

"I believe that everything shall happen as God intends Molly." He said not really answering the question. "The Handmaiden dares not leave any of us alive to speak of her treachery therefore she is committed to this course of conflict. Were we to flee back to the mortal world she would pursue and bring her wrath down not only upon us, but upon any who we may have spoken her secret to. For the lives of all these innocents we must face her and have faith in ourselves and in God that we persevere."

"To support that I suggest we seek a location of our choosing where if we do not have the advantage, then at least it does not favor her as much as the lands of Summer do." Hisha offered. "There is no easy path to Winter, but at least the islands off the coast are part of the realm of Wyldfae and not Summer so we have that benefit when the battle begins."

"Of course those lands are all currently filled with her most loyal armies." Lord Kline pointed out. "They will not willingly accept our word that their well loved leader deceived them and therefore they are unsuspecting tools of betrayal any more than I wanted to believe so. And their mere presence on the battlefield balances out any loss of home field advantage The Handmaiden suffers for setting this conflict in the lands of the Wyldfae."

"That is unless we travel instead to the Isle of the Sirens." I pointed out to what turned out to be a pair of immediately shocked faces. "You said yourself that the Summer forces would avoid this place so we should not have them to contend with right? We merely need to contend with some singing women with enchanting voices before we do battle with the Handmaiden." I pointed out what I thought was a viable option all things considered.

"I fear you have inadvertently subscribed to the equivalent of a political correct retelling of history where the Sirens are merely victims of fate and confined to an island in punishment like Circe the sorceress." Lord Kline replied. "However, there is a valid reason why the forces of Summer widely avoid the island. The Sirens are not beautiful women but vile hags with a taste for mortal and immortal flesh alike. They do not merely lure men, though their preferences are certainly for males, but rather they entice any and all who hear their voice. Those who listen to their song tend to jump over into the forgetful waters of the Lethe and swim to the island in order to become a pizza delivery. This course you offer is not an option toward a longer life, but rather a chance for a different type of death."

I was preparing to argue his point but Hisha interrupted me. "Our ferry has arrived." He said and I turned to note the approach of the boat that came out way and its sole occupant. "I have sworn to follow Molly's lead. She must make the decision." Great! All I needed was to take full responsibility for this entire mess. Maybe the ferryman might be able to offer another option that I was unaware of.

I was ready for the standard cloaked skeleton polling a rickety skiff but once again reality seemed to differ from the way Hollywood portrayed him especially in the recent movies. But I was travelling with a raksasha disguised as a Buddhist monk and a troll with a taste for fine English suits so why should I be surprised?

The 'ferry' was in truth nothing more than a large lifeboat, white with a single red stripe running all the way around the top. Its design was ancient compared to the shape and form of such things on cruise ships today and stood out as such even before I made out the notorious name painted on its side; RMS Titanic. It therefore was no shock that instead of the skeletal boatman in dark cloak and hood I looked upon our guide and saw the white bearded, grandfatherly Captain Smith who had been the master of the doomed vessel on its maiden voyage.

"Payment first!" The ghostly Captain held out his hand before allowing us to board. Daniel with Elaine in tow moved in front of us and turned over five gold coins for our passage. While that hardly fit the early twentieth century image, it seemed that mythology had gotten that part of the story right at least for Captain Smith stepped back and allowed us to board.

"Take us to Siren's Island." I stated as our destination before anyone could object or offer another course. The others merely looked at me and silently agreed, Daniel with trust in his eyes, Hisha faith, Lord Kline resignation, and Elaine with hopelessness. For my part I figured we could hardly be in any worse trouble so I might as well take the less traveled option.

"I hope you have a plan for dealing with the Sirens." Lord Kline whispered to me as he took his seat in the center of the boat where his greater weight would not endanger us with the potential for swamping. "I seem to recall now that they are immune to illusions as well."

Great, that might have been something good to know a moment or two ago. "Why would I start making plans now when stumbling from one crisis to another has served me so well so far?" I laughed and after an initial shock he smiled and shook his head.

His concerns about swamping were unfounded as the boat floated over passive waters even as the storm rose up around us and created waves that reached higher than the gunnels. But as the waves moved in our direction or crossed our path they would part or dissipate not even causing our vessel to rise slightly at their passing. Considering the danger the water posed to our minds I cannot say that I was at all displeased by this even if we did travel slower than I cared for since the storm quickly overtook us. I could sense the hatred in that storm and knew Abagalesidhe was up there waiting to strike.

While I was off in my internal ramblings I barely recognized when Daniel spoke softly from right beside me. "Do you hear that song?" He asked drawing my attention and seeing his eyes were glazing over like he was intensely straining to hear the song carried on the winds of the storm. "It's like nothing I ever heard before…"

I did not hesitate. I figured since Hisha had explained that a veil spell was nothing more than an illusion of bending sight away from an individual or a group of people then the same thing must be possible with sounds as well. I pulled the magic to me and called forth an audio curtain or silence around our boat as the first notes of the siren's song registered in my own mind.

It was an extremely close thing. Because of my distraction first at the danger and then on my task of casting the spell by the time my mind processed the song it had already been cut off. But even in that mere instant what I did register seemed to me a mixture of angels voices in prayer, the teasing whisper of enticing secrets, and the wanton, primal, unspoken desire of a lover's need tickling my ear. I had no personal experience with the third but the reaction of my body was enough for me to have to exert all my will to not drop the spell and listen some more. And from the looks on my companions' faces they all had heard the same things. Thankfully veils were relatively easy for me to maintain for significant periods without too much strain so this spell was not difficult to keep running either; especially knowing firsthand the allure and consequences of letting it drop.

"Wow that was…" Daniel said aloud but seemed unable to finish his thoughts.

"Yes it was." Elaine agreed with obvious flush on her cheeks and leaned even further into him, neither of the pair noticing that his arms was still draped protectively around and holding her tight during the entire event. I was not thrilled by this closeness of the two of them. The only thing I saw as positive was the fact that she rated higher in my book than Jenny Mercer, which really is not much considering the Sirens probably rated higher in my book too. But really, sisterly jealousy was not useful to focus upon when we were all likely about to die.

"I admit you have overcome the siren's song which I had not expected to but the trio still poses a physical threat that we will have to deal with shortly." Lord Kline replied. "Do you have another similar trick for this complication up your rather impressive sleeves young apprentice?" He pointed to the island where I could now see the three creatures standing side by side and awaiting our approach with full anticipation. It is likely they had no idea that their calls were literally falling upon the equivalent of deaf ears or they might have decided upon a different tactic. Thankfully they were accustomed to creatures purposefully crashing their ships upon the rocks so when Charon turned our course slightly away to head toward a patch of beach instead this left them surprised and scrambling as a group to reach us.

The obvious answer to this danger came to mind right then and before I could second guess myself I put this into play. "I don't think we have to worry about dealing with them ourselves." I said to the shock of the troll most of all but all the others to one degree or another. "Why should we fight the sirens and deplete our strength when time works in our favor not our opponent's? The sirens are an issue for Abagalesidhe." I said calling forth the name of the faerie in order to get her attention.

"Abagalesidhe we shall be awaiting you at the Island of the Sirens." I said once more seeing in the eyes of my companions that they understood what it was I was doing.

"Come and get us Abagalesidhe, YOU BITCH!" I said screaming up at the gathering storm above us.

Daylight exploded as a bolt of lightning brighter than two suns slammed to the ground on the island thirty feet or so from where our boat ran up onto the rocky and sandy shore. The trailing siren of the three had the unlucky misfortune of being right where the bolt struck, and unlike cartoons where a huge charge of electricity makes a character's bones stand out for an instant like an x-ray, this was bolt of pure energy was too bright to look upon when it landed. And in the instant after as the light returned to normal, all that remained was an upward trailing plume of smoke rising up from the ground and flakes of ash that I could only assume had originally been part of this first siren a moment before. It was from within this smoky, plume or terror and destruction that Abagaleside strode forth.

The siren's two surviving sisters had both been within ten feet of where the bolt had crashed to the ground and the shockwave of ionized air that created the roll of thunder also sent the pair of them flying a dozen feet or so through the air to crash hard upon the rocks that had destroyed so many ships. Any normal creature would have taken this as a good indication to retreat but the sirens, who I suddenly realized were probably each as tough as an ogre, found their feet almost instantly after landing and charged the Handmaiden with her death in their eyes.

Abagale was quick though, quick as lightning in fact, and before the first could close the distance upon the faerie another bolt of lightning arced from the noble's hand and struck the second siren right in the chest searing a hole clear though her torso in the process. As a testament to the creature's resilience, even though its body would register in a moment that it was actually dead, the second siren in the next moments was still able to stumble forward and land a blow on the Handmaiden body that caused the noble to stagger backwards and lose her footing upon the loose rocks that made up that edge of the island. As the second siren succumbed to death her third sister launched herself upon the now fallen fae to exact horrible revenge.

One at a time each of our group gingerly stepped out of the boat and onto the shore, making sure to avoid the tidal pools that held the Lethe's dangerous waters. "Don't go anywhere." I said to Charon/Captain Smith. "We will require your services again momentarily."

"It will most likely be to transport our souls to the Underworld but one never really knows where the apprentice Molly Carpenter is concerned." Lord Kline said dryly as his feet stepped upon the sand.

I wanted to say something but my mind was distracted back to the battle taking place among the rocks. I know that guys, many like my brother, think that a cat fight between two women is somehow erotic. I can say I do not share this opinion. In the few I've observed it is much more vicious and violent than a fight among guys. Men beat each other up while for the most part throughout maintaining some bizarre code of conduct of where it is authorized to hit their opponent and where it is not. And once the fight is done and the issue resolved through victory then in some cases the two can even immediately move on and go buy each other a beer and discuss what happened civilly.

Women on the other hand start at nuclear war level and from there get really nasty. I remember two girls in my chemistry class getting into a fight about a boy and the first blow swung was a glass beaker, thankfully empty, into the other's face. And as bad as that fight had been, the battle between immortal females was even worse. They would not be toasting each other with beer as much as savoring the other's blood!

The siren who had watched her sisters die showed no sign of letting up on the fae handmaiden until her rage was fully sated, and from the looks of things that would not be anytime soon. Her massive arms and wicked clawed hands struck repeatedly in quick succession, shredding protective Faerie armor and sending pieces of it, and the Faerie flesh beneath it flying in all directions as her rage played out on her opponent's body.

"Maybe the siren will solve our problem for us and we will only have to deal with her." I said with a hopeful voice.

"Or better yet the two will kill each other and we can leave without having to fight at all." Daniel said pulling out his iron crowbar and tucking his handmade rubber gripped dagger into his belt.

Since getting ready seemed a good idea I drew one of the mandibles and readied my left hand for calling a shield so I was ready for casting offensive or defensive magic as the situation called for. Hisha and Lord Kline stepped a distance away to each side of us to keep any one attack from taking us all down and prepared as well while Elaine remained standing in the spot she had come ashore on the beach and left her flail hanging limp. I was going to say something but she spoke first.

"You both still have no idea yet of the power of what we are up against." Elaine said in a resigned tone just as the storm above our heads broke open and a torrent of rain falling in sheets fell upon us.

While this limited my ability to see the battle to mere momentary flashes I got the impression that the added fury of the storm only made the siren that much angrier for her rage of cries rose up even over the now near deafening sounds of the storm. And then the lightning struck.

Another massive bolt flew from the skies and crashed to the ground right upon the combatants. This time standing upon the island I could feel the strike had caused the very ground to shake at its arrival. And being within twenty feet of it, the resulting boom of thunder was momentarily deafening.

As my hearing returned I could sense that the only other sounds now remaining were that of the rain as it struck the ground. Unfortunately my eyes showed the familiar image of a battered but undefeated Abagalesidhe the Fae rising once more to her feet and brushing away the remains of the third and final siren from her body.

"Prudence demands we strike now while she is weak." Hisha said moving forward as did Lord Kline on my other side, drawing the Handmaiden's attention to the pair of them as yet another bolt of lightning struck, this one not as vast, reached down to Abagalesidhe's upheld hand and literally transferred the power of the raging storm to her body.

In the wake of this devastating magic the former Goddess of Lightning strode forth toward our group now even more sure and determined than the instant before. Worse still her body crackled with electrical energy like a personal guarding ward for her protection. And ultimately even worse still was that many of the wounds sported upon her body by the fury of the now deceased siren's attacks were after this bolt only half the size they had been a moment ago. While the siren had caused some harm, she had obviously not even come close to killing the faerie noble.

Abagale looked from Hisha to Lord Kline who had both been slowed by this display of power. "What is wrong troll?" She said with undisguised scorn in her tone. "Did you think your kind the only ones granted access to regeneration?" She mocked him as I could feel the charge in the air condensing to form another bolt for her to command soon.

"I'd prefer not to think my noble bloodline was in some way tainted to produce a creature as ugly as yourself." Lord Kline replied charging forward. The gangly, green skinned troll calling the beautiful, if battered, fae ugly was not lost on any of us. We also all, with the exception of Elaine, chose that moment to attack as well.

"UGLY?" Abagalesidhe screamed. Wow someone obviously struck a nerve. I guess someone has image issues. But before Lord Kline could get into striking range the fae fired forth another charge of anger filled energy greater even than what she had blasted the second siren with. Lord Kline was many things, and at nine feet in height he was certainly intimidating, but for all of that he was not greater than a siren or an ogre.

The bolt struck the troll and before our eyes his body exploded into shards of bone and spatters of blood that was only inadvertently stopped from dousing all of us with his remains by the mere level of torrential rains that knocked these pieces from the air around us. I was shocked at the sudden and violent death of my companion; in fact he was my friend though I suddenly realized I was too late to tell him so.

Lord Kline's sacrifice though had given the raksasha turned monk the chance to close the remaining distance and strike through the electrical curtain of Abagalesidhe's defense using his wooden staff in a series of blows that kept the fae off balance and staggering even if she showed little physical damage from any of these strikes. I had only caught a single glimpse of Hisha's prowess when he had fought Rumplestiltskin and that was nothing compared to the demonstration he provided now.

The monk was incredibly fast, perhaps not more than lightning, but certainly more so than the hand of the fae that tried to move and target him as he landed each of his blows. As her hands tried to track him and continually fired much smaller bolts if only to stun and delay his attacks, Hisha spun, dodged, dove, weaved, leapt, and even rolled around her while landing a series of blows with the ends and tips of his staff that the fae could not ignore and that kept her reeling and off balance.

Finally as Daniel got close, Hisha swept her legs out from under the Handmaiden once more making Abagale land hard upon her back and therefore making the protective curtain of lightning around her flicker giving Daniel the opportunity he wanted to strike with his iron crowbar. Daniel unfortunately was nowhere near as fast as the monk and by the time his mind registered the opening and ordered his arms to make the strike, the fleeting target of opportunity was already closing and he could not recall the strike. The iron bar met the electrical curtain and the resulting explosion sent him flying back to land on the sand ten feet to my right. The crowbar like some mockery of Excalibur landed point first into the ground glowing red hot from its momentary contact with the shielding spell.

The resulting flash had also distracted Hisha. Not much, but unfortunately just enough for Abagalesidhe to finally line her hand up with his body and fire off enough of a bolt of energy to send his body flying off in the opposite direction only to crash down hard upon the rocks in spasms as the charge ran through his body.

"Bitch!" I screamed and pointed the mandible in her direction. "Feugo!" I screamed willing fire magic though this focus and striking the Handmaiden just as she began to gain her feet once more. The addition of a focus allowed me to create a lance of flame like Harry does with his blasting rod but I was still nowhere near his power level, not even with adding my rage to the magic. The fact that the downpour of rain reducing the strength of the spell by nearly half made this even less impressive as it seared a line across her body rather than cutting her in half like I had seen Harry do.

"Foolish child." Abagale said once more on her feet and stepping toward me having shrugged off my most powerful attack spell I had ever cast as if it were nothing to her. "Fire is an element of Summer. You could no more kill me with that than you could with sunshine."

"Good point." I said still pissed off and reached up with my left hand to touch my Winter token as I opened myself to channel as much magic as I could. "Infriga!" I screamed pointing to the area right above her. This time the magic spell did not attack the Faerie directly, instead it made the space from one to three feet above her head the cold of near absolute zero. The effect was that the sheets of raindrops hit this area and were immediately converted into millions of little icicles and hailstones already falling at terminal velocity.

Abagalesidhe's scream of pain was music to my ears and I kept the spell going as long as I could until my knees gave out in weakness from full exhaustion and the storm suddenly abated denying me my makeshift weapons in the process. Maybe any one of the attacks would cause only a pinprick's worth of damage but certainly millions of such pinpricks would be enough to kill her I reasoned. It was the same sort of logic that had worked for Harry against Aurora so it should work for me? Yeah, unfortunately Harry's opponent had not been surrounded by a curtain of electricity at the time.

Abagale's defense was not enough to stop all of these attacks since they were powered in part by the magic of Winter, but it did convert most of the blows, probably ninety nine percent, back into water before they struck. While one percent of a million is still ten thousand, I guess ten thousand pinpricks is not nearly enough to actually kill a Faerie noble since she stood up once more after my spell and the rain was gone. She was at this point covered in a wash of blood and looking not unlike Carrie at the prom but she was still able to stagger in my direction.

I wanted to do something, anything, but I was tapped out completely in both magic and my chi which also left me almost physically exhausted as well. I was helpless and there really was nothing more I could do, well except be made to suffer.

Abagale pointed a finger at me and suddenly I was surrounded by a cloud of static electricity, she was obviously weakened as well and this was the strongest spell she could manage at the moment. That is not to say that it was ineffective. I suddenly knew what it felt like to be tazered and decided right then and there it was not an experience to repeat if I somehow lived past the next few moments.

"Kill her Elaine." Abagalesidhe said no longer looking at me but to my last standing partner who still stood in the sand behind me. "Do as your godmother commands and kill her child and I will forgive your sins against me." She said without any actual sense of love.

"No!" Elaine said with a surprise of defiance I had not expected but pleased to hear. "I won't be your tool or anyone else's tool ever again." You go girl! Now if you would just kill her we might just make it out of here.

"Of course you will child." Abagale said as she stepped closer still before stopping. Had I still had any control of my body or the energy to move I could have drawn my sword and sliced right through her ankles but that was unfortunately beyond me as the static spell continued to wrack my body and leave me convulsing on the sand. Unfortunately Abagale noticed this proximity error on her part as I tried to reach for my sword and shuffled around to the side of me and more toward where Daniel had been thrown while keeping her attention on her godchild.

I sensed a change in Abagale's emotions as she suddenly grew more hostile at Elaine's rejection of her orders. She was up to something though I had no clue what.

"Of course you will." She repeated as if the words would make her command so. "You have been a tool from the very beginning. Justin DuMorne burned your house down and killed your parent to make you his tool. You fled him and came to me and then willingly accepted becoming my tool trading your free will for my protection and allowing yourself to be used for my amusement in whatever degrading way I could come up with. And we both know how creative my mind can be in that particular pursuit do we not my dear? Are you sure you want to anger me so that I come up with even more ways to punish you for this defiance?"

I realized then what Abagale was trying to do. She wanted Elaine if not to submit to her will then to strike with magic at her, fire a bolt of magical lightning at Abagale so that she could in turn heal from its effects. And from the emotional rage I could feel building within Elaine the faerie's plan was about to succeed and we would die. I fought and threw all my will and strength against the electrical spell numbing my body to prevent this from happening.

"Elaine don't!" The words screamed forth and while they were the very ones that I thought of, the voice that carried them was not mine. Instead it was Daniel's as he rolled himself over toward Abagalesidhe and drove his apprentice dagger, all twelve inches, through the faerie's foot so that even the hilt pushed into flesh and the blade tip reached through the wet and sandy ground into the stone layer that lay just a few inches below.

Abagale screamed again in pain and this time the remaining charges of electricity within her fled from her body through its grounding by this iron dagger and the saltwater saturated sand that made a perfect conduit for this form of magical power. While the former goddess's magic was still incredibly powerful, the rubber on the dagger's handle still provided its natural grounding protection and kept my brother being killed in the process of taking this foolhardy gamble. In moments all the magical electricity within Abagalesidhe had dissipated and her body fell back onto the sand with her foot still nailed securely into the ground to hold her in place.

With her unconsciousness the spell around me dissolved as well and left me able to take a breath unimpeded. "Should I kill her?" Daniel said pulling some iron spikes out of his pack at his side that looked like they were originally used for building railroad lines. I guess because he knew about the lethality of wooden stakes for vampires Daniel had assumed iron spike for faeries would be equally effective. I had never spent much time on it but I had to admit he was probably correct.

"No." Elaine said coming up to me and helping lift me into a sitting position and then doing the same for Daniel who was still shaky and now was leaning upon her.

"She will not stop coming after us. If Queen Tatania leaves her alive sometime in the future she will come after us to balance the score." I pointed out urgently but was too weak to do more. Personally I did not want to kill anyone, even a psycho Faerie bitch, but especially since she was defenseless at the moment I could not accept this was the right course. Harry would have explained to do so was to give my dark side more power and that was not a good idea since I was living under the Doom. But still I also did not want Abagalesidhe coming back after us and especially getting to my brother who had no way to protect himself.

"Probably." Elaine agreed. "But we still can't do it." She said again.

"Then we just leave?" Daniel asked.

"No." Elaine said. "Give me those." She pointed to the spikes he had in his hands. "And by any chance do you have a hammer?"

"What are you planning?" I asked.

"She loves power." Elaine explained. "She loves to have people powerless under her will. Maybe it's time for her to feel what that type of helplessness is like for herself." Elaine explained and over a period of a few minutes and with the assistance of Daniel's smith's hammer drove three more spikes through the faerie's hands and other foot and into the stony layer of ground beneath.

"She might still work her way free over time." Hisha said as he staggered forward, charred, limping, and leaning heavily on his staff but still alive and able to smile and offer wisdom. "That or someone may come to free her." He pointed out.

"I doubt that." Elaine said. "The iron will keep her weak and drain her power before she can raise enough to free herself." She explained. "And no one knows the sirens are dead so everyone will still avoid this place so there will be no one to free her. Those who go looking for her will never come here to find her."

"Why not make it so that no one comes looking?" I said trying to stand but not yet strong enough to make it to my feet. "Dig a trench in the sand all the way around her and let the water of the Lethe touch upon her hands and feet. That should eventually make people forget she ever existed if what we were told is actually true."

Daniel and Elaine got to work doing it while Hisha wandered off on his own scouting through the rocks obviously looking for something. When I found the strength to get to my feet I followed after him to try and see what he was looking for.

Between a large clump of rocks I found the troll's pack which had survived the attack though not without some charred patches. Inside were the four chess sets and luckily they still appeared undamaged, undoubted protected in part by the Faerie magic that enchanted them.

"Were you looking for these?" I said holding up the pack for Hisha to see.

"No actually I was hoping to find this." The old monk said holding up an odd shaped dark stone that when he turned I observed was in fact the charred skull of Lord Kline. The raksasha was smiling in obvious delight which I must say seemed a bit odd.

"You are not thinking of taking that as a trophy?" I said feeling a little queasy at the idea.

"Hardly." He said with a smile before shaking the skull and dropping something in his palm. "I assume you must not have had a lot of dealing with trolls my dear or you would know that they are extremely hard to kill. He held up a squirming to inch tall troll for my inspection that I noted looked exactly like Lord Kline except for the vast difference in sizes."

"How did you know you would find this?" I asked as the old monk smiled at me.

"This is hardly the first time my friend has been nearly destroyed. I will take and care for him, play a ghastly amount of chess, and wait for the year to pass that it will take for him to grow back to full size." He put the troll in a deep pocket of his robe and we set out to return to the ferry and eventually back to our own world.

"I take it you have done this before?" I asked him.

"Of course." The monk replied. "It is I who gave him his name as 'The Little Lord,' which of course he converted to Lord Kline." I was happy to know at least some part of the troll would live on.

We left the Summer Handmaiden crucified there on the beach, and though I like to blame the waters of the Lethe for it, in truth it was my intention to forget about her as soon as I possibly could.


	22. Chapter 22

**Semper Fidelis**

**_Chapter 22_**

We fled the lands of Summer as rapidly as our feet could carry us in our exhausted state. It was my hope that Honey would reach Queen Tatania and explain what had taken place and then that the Queen would be wise enough to investigate our claims before launching a full out war. With a little bit of luck she would discover her hidden army composed of her missing forces, and they would support Honey's story that Winter was not in fact usurping their loyalty to their Queen. With only a slightly greater bit of luck both the Summer Lady and Summer Knight would awaken soon as well and the hostilities between eh courts could ease back down to merely the general mistrust level that we all have grown accustomed to.

We fled though because without this luck Queen Tatania would soon undoubtedly understand one of her supposedly most powerful advisors had just disappeared as well and it was more than a little likely she would decide to attack Winter before her forces lost any more of their strength. None of us wanted to be around if that happened, especially those of us, meaning me, who were wearing a Winter token at the moment.

So with this to spur us on we raced, okay we stumbled and hobbled as quickly as we could, to reach the gate back to Chicago. It did not escape my thoughts that my clothing was also again going to disappear in the next few hours at also that someone else would likely show up at the museum in the morning and find the mess Rumplestiltskin and our group had left behind. So we had lots of reasons to hurry. Yeah, in the end, as fast as we were it was not quite fast enough.

Queen Tatania stood at the gate awaiting our arrival but without her usual retinue and only Honey the unicorn at her side. I had mentioned before what it was like to sense the power of the Faerie Queen, and likely because of the near war I sensed that if anything Tatania was even more powerful now. In the event of conflict, on our side of the equation were two exhausted wizards, a battered raksasha, a two inch troll, and an apprentice smith all out of handy tricks. As I looked to the left and the right there were not even a convenient family of sirens available for causing a distraction. If a fight was what the Queen wanted I doubted it would last a full minute.

We approached and the Queen said nothing but merely stared at us and took accounting of our injuries. Likely she was sizing up how big of a threat we were to her and from the way she did not immediately blast us I had to assume we did not seem to register as all that large a threat. At least she did not break out into laughter.

"Emissary, provide your report." Queen Tatania ordered Elaine when we stopped before her and in doing so literally ignored the rest of us. I can't say I was disappointed by this.

I noticed an odd sensation of determination building up in Elaine as her hands clenched at her sides and she squared her shoulders to look directly at the Queen. Daniel saw this as well and stepped closer lending moral support to Elaine through his mere presence and physical support if that were going to be necessary.

"Queen of Summer there is no need for war. The message the unicorn carried of the actual threat to your power was true, but because of the actions and bravery of the Winter Emissary and her brother, that threat to your rule no longer exists. Furthermore it is our hope that the Lady and the Knight shall soon awaken and be restored to you. The traitor's quest for power ended with the loss of her own though we left her alive as it is not an emissary's prerogative to exact justice for the court. I will provide you with the remaining details that require action on the Court's part to set right; mortal and immortal remains that need to be disposed of before they draw unwanted attention and such." Wow that was some speech and it even was delivered without an overabundance of fear in her voice.

Elaine looked at the Queen, then reached up, took off her Summer token, and tossed it at Tatania's feet. "And with the completion of this report fulfilling my contract, I declare I am not bound to you or acting as your emissary any longer." Obviously Daniel had talked to Elaine on our walk here and knew her mind in this for he tensed for action at these words in case the Queen were to take this as an insult.

Queen Tatania's eyes flashed dangerously at Elaine, but a comforting hand from Daniel on her shoulder allowed her to weather the Fae Queen's storm. And at the end of this moment of challenge Tatania's face broke into a smile tinged with sadness.

"Wizard Elaine Mallory you have indeed been a most loyal member of my court. I fear now I realize too late just how valuable. I only wish you were not mortal for I seem to have a new opening in among my closest advisors that requires someone both loyal and resourceful and your resume certainly fits these needs." The Faerie Queen seemed to be genuinely saddened as she picked up the Summer token laying down at her feet. "I accept the completion of your service and therefore the removal of any obligation you have had with the Summer Court."

"Thank you Queen." That was all Elaine said though this was because the conflicting emotions of surprise and pride; the latter something new for her to experience.

The Queen then held the Summer token out to her. "I ask you to accept this not out of subjugation but out of friendship." She explained. "It would please me greatly if you would come to visit now and then. I am certain Cheiron would appreciate this as well." She said naming the giant centaur whom Elaine had befriended. A tear broke through the dam and Elaine nodded her head as she took the magical pendant once more. No longer did it symbolize a slave collar, now it was a gift between friends.

There were some more pleasantries expressed, the Queen thanking all of us for our efforts on behalf of her court as she also called up and dispatched an army of some loyal pixies and the such to go take care of the remaining cleanup in the mortal world before dawn. I cannot say I was unhappy to depart at long last when we were finally granted leave to do so.

Back on the mortal side, once we had distanced ourselves from the museum, it was also time for our group to go their separate ways. Hisha was the first, saying that he had to get little Lord Kline back to his home and feed him so he could grow up one day to be a big, strong troll. I was surprised to see the little troll did not respond to this jibe but Hisha explained it would be more than a year before the troll's memories would begin to regenerate and grow back like his body did. Hisha planned to use that time to play as much chess with the little fellow as possible and try to restore the balance to their win and loss ratio the two of them shared.

I also realized to my disappointment that this meant it would be at least a year before the troll would be able to provide the name of his White Council wizard acquaintance who had instigated this mess. Harry would be disappointed that I had been unable to get this name so I decided that what I needed to do instead was stick close to him when he had dealings with the White Council and see if I could recognize the voice, or better yet the emotions of whoever had been behind this. I also owed him for the lump on the back of my head and that was a debt that I planned to pay in full!

I thanked Hisha and gave the monk disguised raksasha a hug for all the help he had provided me and especially what he had taught me over the past few days. He waved this off in modesty.

"I merely taught you a few magical tricks Molly." He said. "You on the other hand showed me that human kind is not nearly so self absorbed these days as they appear to be; and that they can still find faith, in God, in others, but especially in themselves, when they are faced with the need to." He politely turned away before I began to cry, though I could have sworn as he walked away he wiped his own eyes as well.

I turned to find Elaine and Daniel exchanging addresses and phone numbers before hugging as well. It was a chaste action, but I did note that the touch did not instill in Elaine the same level of discomfort of her personal space being violated as it had just a day or so before. I did not take that as a good sign but I was not going to get into it with Daniel about who he was allowed to be friends with; though I reserve the right to put my foot down if they decided to date. Hey that is what big sisters are for.

"Molly." Elaine said turning and walking over to me. "I guess this is time for us to say goodbye, at least for the moment." She sort of pulled me aside. "About Harry…" She began to say stumbling over her words.

"Don't worry." I tried to calm her. "I will not be telling him about how you still feel." I said trying to remove her concerns about this. I had only promised to speak about it if I thought it had any relevance on what had taken place. It did not so there was no reason, except for my own occasional devious nature that I'm supposed to tap down anyway, to break this confidence.

"Thank you." She said awkwardly. "But that is not what I was talking about." She paused. "You need to tell Harry how you feel about him." She said to me while I felt my mouth drop. "Don't make the same mistakes I have made throughout my life. They have come at far too high of a price." I looked at her quizzically to explain. "Just don't be afraid." She said clearly to make sure I understood.

I merely nodded because I did not know what to say in response to that. I was less than pleased that she understood me so well, perhaps better than I did myself. My feelings for Harry were complicated certainly, but I did in fact love him. Maybe Elaine was right, maybe I needed to not be afraid to tell him just how I felt.

"You sure you do not want to share a cab?" I asked as we flagged one down to pick us up and another was coming up the street behind it already beginning to slow.

"No." She replied. "I have to get back home and check on things." It was a politely lie that people tell each other so that they do not have to tell the truth that it was time to separate. "But you can do me a favor and give this to Harry. He will know what to do with it." She said handing me the magical flail she had been given. I understood and we said goodbyes, no hugs, no handshakes, but at least a smattering of shared respect for the two people changed by these last few days of shared adventure.

Daniel and I headed home and I could not prevent myself from playing the big sister. "So you and Elaine are going to keep in contact?" I asked trying not to allow my catty side into my voice.

"Yeah." He said. "It was my idea. Sort of a two person Phobias Anonymous outreach group since we are both getting over the same sorts of things." He said staring out the window. That made sense to me and I had to admit I actually liked the idea of Daniel having someone, a wizard no less, who he could talk to about his trauma and resulting fears that had come about due to the result of magic. I figure this was a good step down the road to fully healing his spirit.

"Besides I am getting bored with Jenny." Daniel said making sure to catch my eye. "I was thinking of attending a metal trade school in St. Louis and Elaine said she would put me up for a time until I could find a place of my own." The smile he wore was one of shock and attack, but the more common one of my annoying brother that liked to get my goat, not from the guy who had hated me. But still that meant I could play as well. Yeah when he leaves for college I am so going to put that spell of skunk smell on all his underwear as a magical ward and set it to activate only at the touch of a female. I smiled back even tauntingly larger than he was making him uncomfortable.

The cab dropped us off at Harry's place and I told Daniel to keep the guy here while I ran inside quick to feed, water, and walk Mouse and Mister. I stepped through the door to find Harry coming out of his room shirtless and holding his blasting rod.

"Oh Molly it's you." He said upon seeing me and letting the weapon point in a less hostile direction. I was totally shocked at seeing him here at home and it took me a moment for the rest of my mind to catch up since there was a lot I needed to say before I talked myself out of it.

"Cool you are home." I said with a smile realizing how much I had missed just seeing him and spending time together. "I needed to talk to you about something."

"Um…right now?" He asked rather awkwardly setting off my other senses that there was something not right.

And then I caught a whiff of it, a perfume that smelled both expensive and like lilac. I also knew it was Italian and had a pretty good idea where it had originated from and where the wearer of it was currently located even though she was being perfectly quiet. "Yeah it will only take a minute." I said muffling the breaking sounds my emotions were making inside of me. "Someone left this thing on your steps a couple days ago with a note saying please return it to the White Council for them." I said holding forth the flail for him to see and glad I had it as an excuse. "I could see it was old and it felt magical so I kept it around until I could give it to you."

"It's a flail." He said looking at it oddly but accepting it from me.

"Is that what you call it?" I asked. "Well anyway since you are home no need for me to walk Mouse. I'll see you in a couple of days." I turned to go hoping he could not sense my turmoil.

"Molly?" He said to me before I made it completely out the door.

"Yes?" I braced myself.

"Did you eat all the bologna in the fridge?" He asked. "We had like three packs less than a week ago and now there is none in there." I could not decide at that moment whether the fact that Harry is the most oblivious man in the world when it comes to women was a good thing or not. I guess I just had to have faith everything would work out like it was supposed to.

"Not a clue boss." I said. "Gotta go got a cab running on the meter and dad came home from the hospital last night." I said as I pulled the door shut behind me.

"Tell him I will be by to see him." Were the last words I heard Harry say and then I headed back to the cab. Daniel noticed the change in my mood, I guess you do not have to be a sensitive mage to recognize a broken heart, and he wrapped his arm comfortingly around me and let me weep in silence for the drive home.

Over the next few days I pulled myself together emotionally. I called Butters and after listening to a tickle fight between him and Crystal to get the phone he informed me that the city had closed the desiccated corpses cases since Jimmy Marteen had been buried and the other bodies had all mysteriously disappeared from the morgue. Whoever had done so had left behind pizza boxes but the police were not actively pursuing this case and were instead happy to let the whole thing drop.

I was still feeling a little down when Lily and Fix came to see me and offer their thanks for saving their lives. I was asked not to talk any further about the leeches by Lily who still shuddered when she mentioned them. The pair tried to offer me a Summer token proof that they owed me a favor but since I now had firsthand knowledge that people got killed for carrying those things I told them I'd rather we just keep it off the books and if I ever needed any help I would reach out to them.

I did let them take me out for a night of partying. Yeah I was still just a little too young to get into a bar legally, but it seems the Summer Court was holding a party that night, well every night actually, at a five star hotel and I was made guest of honor. I had to say the attention I was attracting from some of the male guests went a long way toward healing my emotional depression; not completely, but hey when you are a famous, perky, and beautiful apprentice wizard it is important to act the part.

Shockingly Maeve even showed up for this event unannounced, and more shockingly was invited in to attend the festivities. In her fine tradition she was not only decked out in a T-shirt that said 'Cold Hearted Wench' but had four chipper and athletic young men on her arms who did not speak a lick of English; they were I learned the Swedish bobsled team who rumor had it was the shoe in for the gold at the next winter games. Personally I would not bet against them based upon the way the Lady of Winter smiled at them.

I tried to get time to tell her that Jimmy's killer had been dealt with but she brushed that off as Hans, Fritz, and Zola each fed her white, milk, and dark chocolate respectively. She did take a moment though and say I was released from Winter's service now that these events were finished and as a bonus because of a comment by Lily that I did not hear even arranged for my spider mandibles to be converted into two shiny wands of spider ivory and sent back to me FedEx. Maeve it seemed, knew the same Eskimo scrimshaw expert that Lord Kline had mentioned.

Finally, after that wild night of music, dancing, and drinking rather potent fruity drinks that I was assured contained no alcohol, Lily and Fix dropped me off at home just as my mother was hustling everyone out the door to make it to the buses to get to school. Thankfully she was too busy at the moment to do more than give me a disapproving look for the time of my arrival and my dress and I used this opportunity to head for the shelter of my own third floor room so I would not face any more.

On the way up though I saw little Harry diligently scribbling on another of his coloring books and chose to stop in for a hug. I retrospect I found it was freaky how the pictures he had drawn for me were rather prophetic now that this was all over. He had given me a picture of Snow White after she had eaten the poison apple, a dark haired young woman confronting the evil queen, and finally one of Rumplestiltskin. With each of these he had said he knew I would make it all better because I was his hero. In the magic world there are no such things as these types of coincidences.

I figured it was good to see what he was working on now just in case it was another of these coloring book prophecies so I knew what to prepare for. Instead though when I got close I found little Harry was not even looking at the paper in front of him. Instead his eyes were rolled back in his head showing only the whites as in a very precise script that no toddler was capable of performing, especially with crayons, his hand was writing words over the top of Mickey Mouse. Worse still the words were in Latin.

I was reaching out to touch him when he finished and his eyes returned to normal. He turned to see me and smiled in that wonderfully innocent way that only children can and gave me a hug that held all the love in the world. "I told you that you would make it all better." He said hugging me fiercely while behind him I carefully tore the page with the writing on it from his coloring book and hid it in my sleeve.

Up in my room I took out the Latin dictionary Harry had given me so that I could learn how to speak before the White Council when the time came. I used it now to translate as best I could what Little Harry had written. My translation was imperfect, but it still left me cold to my very soul…

"_In accordance with the Seelie Accords_

_Let the Wizard Molly Carpenter be (informed/take notice)_

_That by the (crimes/offenses) her (group/people) did to (me/mine)_

_A Blood Feud (War of Blood) now exists between us"_

The End…


End file.
